The Amazing Nick Wilde (Zootopia and Sky High)
by dag098
Summary: Nick is just a standout teenager, who stands out for the wrong reason. He is one of the only mammals to not have powers in his entire school, his parents being the most powerful super hero's in the world doesn't help. They keep their secrets on tight lock, especially the fact that they are foxes because some old prejudices never die. Will Nick be able to fit in to a new school?
1. Prologue

Let me ask you this, if your parents were two of the most well known, powerful, and extraordinary super heroes in the world would you expect yourself to be just as extraordinary, yeah so would i. But somethings just don't work out how they should. Most mammals get there powers during puberty, but puberty has passed and I still have about as much power as a grain of rice. My dad he's known as "The Wild One" , strongest male to ever live capable of taking giant metal robots and demolishing them with a single punch to the chest. My mom is known "The Scarlet Fang", who can fly faster than any airplane, and shoot lasers from her eyes that can melt just about anything. But to me they are just Edwards and Amelia Wilde. And the only people to know their true identity were me and their parents, although I sometimes question whether grandma actually knows or not. The only people to know their species was me and their parents, because if anyone found out that they were foxes, well lets just say old prejudices never die, even though they have saved over a thousand people. And then there is their son, yes people know he exists but that s about as much as they know about him. That's me, normal, average, and powerless Nicholas Wilde. My parents believe I still have time to get my powers but I've given up on them, I'm nearly 16 and I haven't had any sign that there are any powers developing inside of me. Now my parents were a big stickler for doing the right thing (obviously), so they went ahead and enrolled me into greatest super hero academy in all of Zootopia, Sky High. It's also Zootopia's best kept secret, if super villains found out that there was a whole school for training super heroes bad things would happen. So against my own will I was going to high school train as a super hero, and let me tell you now this story is much more than a coming of age story, its also a love story, a story full of friendships some expected some unexpected. But most importantly it is the story of how I finally figured out who I was.


	2. Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

"Nick get up or you're going to be late for school", Nicks eyes popped wide open at the sound of this. His mom was standing right in the door way with an exasperated look on her face that read 'don't you dare make me have to say that again'. Instead of starting another argument with her he threw himself out of bed so that he was standing next to his bed frame while grumbling about how he did not want to go to this new school where he would be the odd ball, he had always been used to laying low and never really receiving anyone's attention, and now he will be the only one in a whole school without powers. "Nick I know this is going to be hard for you but me and your father agree that this will help you for when your powers do come in."

That made Nick furious, "how do you know I'm gonna get powers mom, you and dad always say the same thing 'when they will come in' but how do you know they are even gonna come in at all what if I'm just a boring average fox like the rest of the normal civilians. I feel like I'm about to waste four years of my life." Lying back down to hide his anger in his pillow. He didn't like yelling at his parents but it often felt like they never listened to him. His mother sat down next to him on his bed rubbing her hand along his back to try and soothe his rage,

"Nicholas, I know this is going to be hard, but you have to have faith in yourself, me and your father are both extremely powerful, not to pat myself on the back, there is no way you can come up with nothing." She said soothingly.

Nick sighed, "okay but I'm only going through with this to make you happy"

"Well that's the spirit" she said sarcastically, "your breakfast is out on the table".

She got up from the bed and moved for the door closing it behind her, while Nick climbed out of bed and threw some clothes on, nothing flashy just a green Hawaiian shirt and some khaki pants. Making his way out to the kitchen to see what his mother had made. The smell of pancakes and blueberries filled his nose. One thing he loved about his mother was her blueberry pancakes and their ability to lighten his spirits no matter how bad his day was going. He went up to the tall stack and grabbed a small stack of his own which he then doused in syrup and ate happily.

"Nick remember what I said, and also if anyone insults you just because you're a fox just tell them Scarlet Fang and The Wild One are your family. Your bus is here so you might want to get going" His mother said without looking up from her cooking. He couldn't hear a thing but after looking out the window he realized she was right. It was just rolling up to the corner by the time he was out the door. The doors opened for him, the only mammal at this bus stop. When he climbed in he realized that he must have been one of the last mammals to be picked up because nearly all the seats were full. Another thing he noticed was everyone's eyes staring at him. Some of the mammals he recognized from years past, they knew he didn't have any powers and gave him confused looks. Others on the bus he didn't know and they gave him disgusted looks, probably because he was a fox and most of the mammals on the bus were prey. Nick climbed his way through the bus being cut off from sitting down or just flat out denied from doing so. Finally he reached the back of the bus which had the last available seat. When Nick went to sit down he realized there was a very short fennec fox sitting there. The fox simply gazed up at him and scooted over allowing Nick to sit down. "Thanks" Nick said while taking his seat, the fox merely grumbled in response. The bus started its route when Nick realized he had no idea where this school even was he had never heard of Sky high until his parents had brought it up over the summer. He had never seen it around Zootopia so where was it. What Nick was not expecting was the sound of jet engines starting up behind him and the bus to suddenly grow wings on either side. The bus picked up speed moving down the road till the wheels no longer were on the ground and was now flying into the clouds out of the view of civilians. Nick wasn't the only one that was surprised as other mammals on the bus let out screams of fear and excitement. After flying through the air for several minutes a large object came into view, it looked like just a large platform with buildings on top floating in the sky. Sudden realization dawned on Nick as he remembered the name of the school SKY HIGH. He felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.

The bus came down gently on a landing strip before parking in front of the school. Stepping out on to the pavement Nick could barely suppress the awe at the fact that this whole floating island was above him all his life and he never noticed. The school itself looked like a normal school, nothing out of the ordinary, that is, until Nick stepped inside. All different types of animals were in the halls from tall giraffes to tiny mice, each of them had their own special ability they were born with and were going to master hear. Nick knew he was going to be an outcast, but he was going to make the most out of it. Nick let out another sigh of relief when he realized he was not the only predator, in fact, quite the opposite he was one of many that made up about 25% of the schools population according to the posters on the wall.

"Excuse me sir" came a voice from Nicks side. Nick looked over to see a somewhat short ewe standing behind a table waving him over. "Hello, my name is Dawn Bellwether, I am the class president here at Sky high. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Nick Wilde, I'm just a freshmen who is trying to figure things out."

"It's alright sweetie we've been in your position before, just give me one second and I will find you your schedule" Papers on the table were suddenly being moved around but not by Dawn, they were simply being lifted up and sorted through. 'Sweet cheese and crackers she telepathic', its almost like he forgot he was at a super hero school or something. Very abruptly the papers stopped moving around and one rose up from the rest. Dawn read it pausing when she saw the powers section blank, each schedule normally had the mammals powers labeled on it, but the one she was now holding was blank. "Did you fill out the powers section on the application?"

"Uh well you see-" Nick was about to tell her that he didn't have any powers when the bell rang signaling for first period.

"Oh well I guess it doesn't matter right now, but be sure to go to the front office during your lunch time to fix that okay? Buh bye now." She said shewing Nick off.

Nick didn't know why but there was something off with that ewe. But luckily his "secret" was still just a secret for now. 'I want to keep it that way for as long as possible' Nick thought to himself heading off to begin his first day.


	3. Chapter 2: Off to a Ruff Start

First class on the schedule Nick held was called "Understanding and Controlling Your Powers", which took place in the gym where today every student would be displaying their powers for the class. 'Oh great there goes the whole keeping a secret plan, maybe the class is really big and they wont get to me today'. This was the case thankfully, the class was really big, filling up half the bleachers in the whole gym. All the mammals Nick knew were hanging with different people but Nick wasn't one for making friends on day one so he stuck to the ends of the bleachers hoping it allowed him some privacy and the chance to possibly skipped over for the demo.

"Alright listen up, I don't like repeating myself so I you all better listen up", screamed a large polar bear at the center of the gym. "My name is Coach Friedkin and that is all that you can call me, I'm not here to be your friend I'm here to help you take the next step in becoming the next saviors of the world. Today we will be demonstrating your powers and I will decide whether you have the capabilities of being a hero or a side kick to a hero. But before we begin I will take attendance to be sure we aren't missing anyone, not that I care", that last part was said under her breath but loud enough for some to here. Lucky for Nick he was a fox with good hearing and heard it quite clearly.

"Alright lets see here we got Pawl Allen"

"Here" a paw went up from a white wolf near the front who seemed a little to enthusiastic for school.

'Huh he's probably one of those kids who enjoys learning' Nick thought to himself as the rest of role flew by. He listened in to see if any of the names rang a bell, Diego Delgato was a lion Nick knew of but not much about, he was more of a jock and loved his football. There was Samantha Fangmeyer, a very tall yet kind tiger he used to get along with. There were others but Nick couldn't be bothered enough to pay attention anymore.

"Nick Wilde"

"Here" Nick said as relaxed and cool as possible although with how nervous he was he couldn't tell that his voice cracked which lead to giggling throughout the entire gym. 'Perfect, I say one word and now everyone's gonna remember me for a crack. Stupid puberty I wish I could just le-'

Nick was interrupted from his thoughts by the doors being opened obnoxiously loud. Everyone's head instantly snapped over to the source of commotion including Nick, and they were all equally surprised to see that the mammal that created such a loud noise was just a tiny rabbit. There wasn't much special about her, but the one thing that caught Nicks eye was in fact the rabbits beautiful eyes. They were a deep shade of violet that looked like they could take over your soul if you stared to long.

"Excuse me, who in the heck are you and why are you interrupting my attendance call", Coach Friedkin yelled to the bunny who was now making her way towards the center of the gym where Friedkin was waiting. The size difference between them made Nick almost burst out laughing, but the way that this rabbit was holding herself made her seem almost just as intimidating as the large polar bear. But at the sound of Friedkin's yell her entire demeanor changed from strength to weak.

"Oh my I am so sorry, you see I still don't comprehend my own powers so I tried to open the door but I think I used a little to much force, I didn't mean it." She replied trying to take back the strength she once had. She then cleared her throat and said, "my name is Judy Hopps, I'm late because I don't live any where around here and had no idea where to go so I got quite lost."

The gym was silent, partially because some were still in shock from the fact that a tiny bunny could make such a loud noise and others were trying to figure out if this bunny was real or if she was just putting on some lame excuse for being late.

"Alright I suppose since it's the first day of the school year I will let you slide for one tardy but don't do it again and take it easy on the doors from now on, now go take a seat."

"Thank you" Judy said sound extremely grateful, she then scanned the bleachers for an open seat, finding one near the end of the building next to Nick. 'Oh I hope she doesn't try to start a conversation with me' Nick hoped. Judy took her seat put her bag in front of her and sat quietly. The only attention she gave Nick was a simple smile in greeting before her attention turned back to the rest of the role call.

Nick himself was confused to what kind of powers such a tiny bunny could have. 'Actually come to think of it I didn't know most of these people have powers' he thought to himself. He'd known Fangmeyer for years and didn't know she had powers. And then there was Nick sitting in a class full of people more powerful than he'd ever be.

"So today we will all have a turn to demonstrate our abilities, you will come to the middle where a stage will soon be and give us your most impressive power. I will personally judge whether you are hero or side kick material, does everyone understand?" Friedkin yelled causing a murmur of approval to rise up from the rest if the gym. "Good do we have any volunteers who would like to go first."

Judy continued to surprise people as she was one of the only mammals to volunteer. Her face was one of confidence as she slowly climbed on top of the large stage that rose from the center of the gym. "So one of my powers is the ability to take control of anyone's body even though I am on the outside of it, for example"

Nick suddenly couldn't feel any of his appendages or any of his body for that matter. He could barely comprehend the fact that he was walking down the steps towards the gym floor. Once there his body stopped and presented itself as if he had just done some magic trick.

"You see when I sat down to this kind gentle fox I made a link with him that lets me control everything he does", these words came out of Nicks mouth but was said by Judy, "With this I can do just about anything he would do but with the safety of knowing that I personally won't get hurt, like say do a standing back flip."

'A standing what now' Nick thought to himself as his legs bent down preparing to jump. 'Shh your ruining my concentration' Judy responded in his head.

'Rabbit you better stop this now I can't do a stan-'

'Have you ever tried'

'No but th-'

'There's no way to know if you can't do something unless you try'

The tension in Nicks legs released and suddenly he was in the air. 'Hey maybe I can actually do this' he thought halfway through the flip. Sadly Nicks and Judys luck ran out for as soon as he thought that he ended up landing flat on his back causing an up roar of laughter from the watching crowd.

"Ok so maybe I can't do anything" Judy said from her own body barely holding in her own laughter. Nick being mad was an understatement, if there wasn't an audience he would kill the rabbit. He was now in control of his own body and got up slowly hanging his head in embarrassment.

"Having this link also allows me to read his thoughts and understand almost everything about him. This is Nicholas Piberius Wilde, he was born on September 24, 2000 and is the son of Scarlett Fang and The Wild One, he is an only child and has a pretty great secret that will surprise all of us when he gets up on stage" Judy said, "Oh yeah and I have a few other powers too but I think my friend here has had enough for one day."

At the end of her statement there was silence. Everyone was in shock because of who Nick was related to and how powerful Judy was. Nick looked at Judy with a look that would make most mammals flee in fear of their own lives but Judy just looked down and gave Nick a wink.

Judy got down from the stage and brushed past Nick who didn't even realize he had been staring at the bunny the entire time. He snapped out of his trance by the feeling of many eyes on him, he turned around to see that the entire gym was now staring at him.

"Well thank you for volunteering to go next Mr. Wilde, hop right here on stage and demonstrate your powers. I expect a lot coming from the son of the two greatest superheroes in Zootopia." Friedkin said not trying to hide her surprise from what had just happened.

Nick was lost in thought barely paying attention to what happened, whenever he told someone that he was the son of those two he always added in the made up fact that he was adopted. He wasn't actually but it protected them from the prejudices that existed towards foxes. Nick wasn't sure how no one knew they were foxes but he guessed the masks they wore were enough to hide their species. Now that the whole school knew otherwise there would be some hate going towards them now.

"Nick Wilde are you even listening to me I said get your butt on stage and demonstrate your powers"

Nick snapped out of his day dream and listened to what was happening around him. There was whispering going around but other than that the gym was silent. He stepped up to Friedkin and motioned for her to come down so he could whisper something. She got down on one knee and put her ear right next to Nicks face.

"You see that secret that Judy so nicely mentioned is the fact that I don't have any powers yet, its either that they haven't come in yet or I'm not getting any. I'm only here to practice for if they come in." Nick whispered to the polar bear.

"Excuse me. So you're telling me that you don't have any powers" Friedkin said a little louder than necessary. Nick flinched at that, whispering began and soon mammals started to shout out.

"Ha leave it to a fox to not have any powers"

"Wow you would think that someone related to someone so powerful would be just as powerful. But this is list sad."

The shouts got louder and louder till the whole gym was in an uproar.

"Get out of here you piece of trash let one of us save you someday"

"Ha, who would want to save a fox"

"Weakling! Weakling! Weakling!"

Then they started to throw things, from books, to lunches, to entire backpacks being flung in Nicks direction. Nick ran for cover to avoid being injured, heading towards the gym doors to escape the nightmare he was somehow put into. He was completely and utterly alone now physically and mentally.

While Nick was running away there were some mammals sympathizing for him, one of them being a small fennec fox, the other being the very rabbit that put him in this position in the first place.

Nick huddled outside the hall trying to hold in his tears, remembering his mantra "don't let anyone see that they get to you", but right now that was really hard. Normally he was used to this kind of treatment but even some of his own friends were turning against him. Hearing the doors open he wiped the tears from his face attempting to make himself look presentable.

"Listen I'm fine I didn't even want to go to school here in the first place I will just make my way out" Nick said without looking up turning to leave.

"Nick stop, I'm here to apologize" the voice surprised Nick, it wasn't Friedkin, it was Judy.

"Rabbit not gonna lie you're the last living thing I want to see right now" Nick said through gritted teeth trying to scare her off, she didn't even flinch at him though.

"What I did in there was wrong, I'm simply trying to fit in. I'm from Bunny Borough where hardly anyone has powers so I was an out cast I guess I kind of know how you feel" Judy said with a sorrowful expression.

"No Fluff you don't understand because I'm a fox and your just a bunny, oh no prejudices don't exist for you but the full force of the fucking world is fighting against me and the fact that there are like a thousand other people who have way more abilities than me including you doesn't help." Nick screamed at full force not holding back any of the pain he's experienced in the past 24 hours. Instead of continuing the argument Nick spun around and ran off to get away from everything and everyone.

'What a great start to my first day' they both thought, 'how could it get any worse'.


	4. Chapter 3: Old Friends And Bloody Noses

Hello everyone, this is my first time ever writing directly to my audience, I'm really happy with what is going on and the amount of people that have read this story. I see that a majority of people seem to enjoy it which is good considering it is my first story I've ever fully fleshed out (by that I mean I've tried writing before but never really had a flow going). Now I know that the story is moving rather slow, in two chapters I've covered going to school and the first period, I'm hoping to pick up the pace as more characters are introduced and given depth. If you have any questions feel free to ask, please leave a review, and if you really are liking the story give a follow or a favorite I really do appreciate it.

I do not own any of Zootopia or Sky High they are both owned by disney and all rights belong to them.

Nick knew he couldn't just skip the rest of the day so he just waited in the bathroom till the bell rang for the next period to start. Next class he had was Weapon Care and Management which actually took place in a classroom. None of the weapons were real (for obvious reasons) but they worked in ways that couldn't harm anyone even a little. This class was taught by a rather frail look armadillo, Mrs. Rollae, who looked like she could barely get up from her chair she was that old. Nick was the first one in the class and sat as far in the back as he could hiding his face from the door and the teacher so he could avoid any more insulting. The class filled up quickly and before they knew it the tardy bell rang signaling for class to begin. "Ok everyone quiet down now, class is in session", Mrs. Rollae said quietly and politely. Everyone was still full of energy for the first day of school and didn't hear her. "I said quiet down", she said a little louder but still they were talking to each other. She made eye contact with Nick who seemed to be the only mammal not talking in the whole class. She put her hands over her ears signaling for him to do the same which Nick did but he wasn't sure why he was. The teacher took a big breath in preparing herself for what Nick thought was going to be just a normal scream. "EVERYONE LISTEN UP CLASS IS NOW IN SESSION!" The force of her scream was enough to blow back the larger mammals and knock over the smaller of them in the class. Nick could clearly hear it even with his ears being covered, 'I wonder what her power is' he though to himself.

"Thank you" she continued at a normal volume.

"My name is Mrs. Rollae, accent on the back half, and welcome to weapon care and management. Now I know what you are thinking 'how are weapons allowed in school' well these are the same exact weapons you will find out on the streets but taken down so far that they are harmless to anyone in the cross hair. Some of them still may cause pain to simulate the pain of being hit but you will take no damage I can promise you that." She said much more quiet than her original scream. Most students were still recovering from the scream as she continued on to talk about all that they will be learning through the year.

"Psst Nick, hey Nick" came a voice from Nicks left. Whoever it was kept on trying to get his attention.

"Nick it's me Wolford I promise I was not one of the mammals being mean to you back there I've known you for years and I want to help you out" this got Nicks attention, he hadn't seen Wolford for years he thought he would recognize his old friend. When he turned around he saw a tall white wolf sitting in the desk next to him.

"Willy? Is that really you" Nick asked, the last time he saw Wolford was when he was seven years old just before he tried to join the Junior Ranger Scouts, the event that changed his life forever, back then Wolford was a tiny little pup that was often picked on but now he was nearly double Nicks size and had a voice that could knock girls dead by how deep it was.

"Yeah Nick its me, long time no see" Wolford responded with a look of genuine care in his eyes.

"I had no idea you had powers" Nick whispered avoiding the attention of the teacher.

"Neither did I, they came in about a month before school started I've developed super strength but we don't know where they came from"

"Wow that's really cool"

"Listen enough about me, how have you been, I'm really sorry for what happened in there even though I had no part in it I swear, that bunny is one powerful being even though she is so small. "

"Its fine I'm kind of used to it by now, ever since I moved into Zootopia I've been treated like that, like a fox"

"That's really sad, I'm sorry"

"Its fine really I've just been pretty independent not really making friends with anyone because I don't know who to trust anymore"

"Excuse me" a voice interrupted from the front of the room, turning back to face the voice he saw the teacher now staring at him. "Are you two done?"

The room was very quiet aside form the air conditioning and the sound of people breathing. No matter where he went in this school Nick seemed to always be thrown in the middle it seemed.

"Yes ma'am" Wolford said for both of them, Nick simply nodded in response trying to hide behind his desk.

The rest of class went on without a hitch despite the glares or stares from other classmates towards him. The bell rang and they were off to the next class. Walking through the hall Nick remembered back to Judy's apology, she seemed to trust him by how close she got, and if she really was struggling to fit in could they actually get along. 'No there's no way I cannot simply open myself up to someone because they supposedly have a similar life to mine' Nick thought to himself. But maybe…

BANG! Nick didn't even see what hit him, he only felt a pain in his head and his back against the floor.

"Oops sorry didn't see you there" said a male voice above Nick. He looked up to see a lynx snickering at him with a smirk on his face.

"Or maybe next time you should watch where your going and try not to get blood on my locker" the lynx said picking Nick up by his shirt and shoving him against the locker. The lynx was much taller than Nick so his feet were dangling beneath him. Looking over Nick did see his blood on the locker, the pain in his nose made him realize where it was coming from, that and the feeling of a warm liquid running down his face. Nicks face was one of indifference, he wasn't snarling but he surely didn't look like a happy camper. 'Never let them see that they get to you' the words echoed through his head. Nick stared deep into the lynx's eyes trying to read anything coming from him, what his next move would be, how hard he was going to hit. What he was not expecting was a large white paw to connect with the lynx's face. The sound of the lynx's jaw snapping could be heard throughout the hall snapping everyone who wasn't already paying attention to the fight to all eyes being on them. The white paw belonged to Wolford who now stood over both of them with a glare on his face looking at the lynx.

"Don't mess with him or you're gonna get the full force from me not that wimpy shit I just threw at you, understand?" Wolford said intimidatingly. The lynx simply nodded in response before running off to get away from them. Wolford then turned off the intimidation as he faced Nick, sticking his arm out to help him up. Nick took it but was still embarrassed by it,

"I didn't need that" Nick said refusing to look up.

"Nick, not trying to put you any lower but you really did, that lynx was about to rip your head off"

"Yeah I could've taken it though"

"Can't you just be thankful for me stepping in to help an old friend out"

Nick thought for a bit, to be honest he did miss having his friend around.

"Plus if I remember right you used to be the one who got a paper cut in the third grade and cried in class" Wolford said with a glowing smirk.

"Yeah well things change, I've had to learn how to take some hits since I moved" Nick responded glumly still not taking in Wolford's humor.

"Oh…" an awkward silence then follows before ended by the continuous flow of blood coming from Nicks nose.

"I better get this this mess cleaned up" Nick said turning and walking away.

"Ok just be careful Nick" Wolford said not following him.

The nurses office wasn't so bad, the nurse was a kind kangaroo who seemed to actually care for Nick's health. She was currently cleaning the blood out of Nicks fur.

"Tell me lovey how did this happen?" The kangaroo questioned

"Oh, I uh hit a locker, just wasn't paying attention" Nick mumbled without making direct eye contact. The kangaroo noticed this but didn't say anything.

"Ok just try to be more careful, you didn't break your nose this time but it sure was a nasty hit. As for your shirt, you can't wear this so I can offer you a shirt from our extra supplies. I don't think we have anything exciting in your exact size"

Nick peered into the box and saw nothing but blank white shirts, the largest one the had in the box was a small. Luckily, even though he didn't have powers he still took care of himself and had quite the muscles so the small would work but it would be kind of exposing. Nick grabbed the shirt and went into the bathroom to change. Slipping it on his prediction was right, he looked good but it wasn't very school appropriate 'not that just any mammal will fall for a fox' Nick thought.

Stepping out of the bathroom he waved to the nurse stepping back into the hall.

When he was gone a masked mammal stepped out from behind a closed door with a window.

"Was he telling the truth?" The mammal asked

"No not even trying, he didn't try to hide so I would've known even without powers" the kangaroo responded

"So what do you think happened?"

"I honestly do think he got hit by a locker it was a pretty flat area of trauma to his nose, but there was something more. If you ask me I think there was a fight but somehow he got out of it. Now how he got out of it your guess is as good as mine."

The kangaroo then looked up at the masked figure with a questioning face

"I know you saw what happened why wouldn't you step in if you saw that your son was in danger?"

The masked figure paused his pacing and stared at the kangaroo,

"You are dealing with a kangaroo and has a strong power of reading peoples social cues and I already have a good enough sense of smell that you are a fox, don't worry it doesn't change my opinion of you, I see you as a father looking out for his son"

The masked figure stared for a few more seconds before taking off his mask to reveal a fox, he was much older than Nick, and had the grey hairs to prove it. But he still could move and react like a younger fox because of his powers.

"So I will ask again Mr. Wilde, why do you let your son be beaten up when you can step in and help him?"

Mr. Wilde thought about this for awhile before answering "I don't help him simply because he needs to learn and adapt. With or without powers he is a strong fox with enough will to take on any bully or attack thrown at him"

"Sir I think you're forgetting one thing. He is still just a teenager, this is a hard enough time for them, but now you've put a fox with no powers into a school of powerful mammals who could easily eat him right up. That is a lot of mental pressure, your son could get anxiety, or be stressed, or worse he could become depressed and suicidal. I know you don't want any of that got him but it can and it will if the rest of the school year is like this morning has gone"

"I know he can make it through this, and his powers will come in, and when they do he will be more powerful than all the mammals in this school, perhaps even more powerful than me and his mom"

"And how do you know this?"

Mr. Wilde thought again "Because he is my son" looking out as his son headed off to the rest of the day.

The rest of his classes in the morning flew by, and lunch was now his current class. Despite it being a school for super hero's the food was sub par compared to any normal school. And of course most of the tables were taken. The lunch room itself was big enough to hold all the students, it was broken into four parts one for each class. The freshmen part was nearly full except for a few tables. Nick looked around trying to decide which table would be the best.

'Nick come sit near me, I really need to talk to you' said a female voice inside his head.

'Listen Fluff Butt I need you to get out of my head and stay out'

'Oh come on Nick the only tables left open are full of the super brainiacs, literally their power is the power of being really really smart'

'Fine but not because I want to, now where are you'

'Look to your right near the window'

Nick turned and saw Judy looking out the window looking out a window, 'she almost looks sad' Nick thought 'there is no way she has had as rough of a day as I have'

He walked over and took the seat directly across from her to stay as far away from her as possible.

"Listen Nick I… I want to-"

"Hey Nick you mind if I sit here too" It was Wolford coming just in time to save the day again.

"Uh sure pal I'm guessing Cottontail won't mind"

"Awesome" Wolford said sitting down in between Judy and Nick half way between them on the circular table.

"Nick I really need to talk to you privately" Judy said sounding even more depressed.

"No Carrots I think Willy here can hear what you have to say to, I guess he's my bodyguard now, ain't that right Willy"

'Nick don't make me do this' this got Nicks attention, she was once again speaking inside his head but it sounded like she was about to cry.

'Do what?' He asked concerned now.

Judy moved faster than any mammal he had ever seen, she grabbed Wilford's arm and uttered the word "Sleep" and instantly he fell asleep his face slamming against the table with a loud "Thwack" no one around us seemed to notice thankfully.

"Nick please" Judy said out loud barely holding back tears.

"Alright" Nick

Nick followed Judy out into one of the now empty hallways where Judy instantly broke down and started sobbing.

"Carrots not that I really care but you were the one putting me through all the pain why are you now crying"

"Nick I'm sorry I'm so sorry really, but I need your help like I told you I'm out here on my own, none of my family lives remotely close to here. And the mammals they… they… they won't let me live down what the fact that I'm just a bunny from some low down podunk." She said through sobs, "they keep telling me to go home and farm, go mate and multiply like all rabbits, why be different when all you rabbits are the same…. I… I… I know I'm the last person you want to talk to or see right now but I feel like no one else in this school feels as alone as I do. I was just thinking we could help each other out, you know watch each other's back. A… a… and since I'm crying so hard now I'm asking for you to teach me how you ignore it all so well, how you can get through all the insults without showing it, please Nick I need you." She then went on sobbing.

Realization hit Nick like a bus, this rabbit who he barely knew was pouring out her heart and soul to a random mammal, a fox even. She trusted him enough to cry right in front of him and beg for his help. 'She really is like me' he thought. 'She's like me before the event and she's going through it just like I did.' A sense of determination filled Nick, yes he will help this bunny and she will help him. He looked down at the mess that was Judy Hopps and his decision was final right then and there.

"Judy" he said softly bending down to her level and leaning his arm against the locker. "I will help you, I don't know why but something is telling me to trust you. I haven't done the whole trust thing in awhile so this will be a learning for both of us. But I will help you if you will help me" Nick said quietly and almost affectionately.

"Oh thank you Nick, Thank you" she said now through tears of joy. She sprang up and hugged Nick around his torso squeezing him way to tight. He didn't know how to react it was weird for him, but he slowly put his arms around her to return the hug. A new determination went over him. He would no longer go to school for his parents, he will go for her the rabbit that just minutes ago was the worst mammal in the world, and now he depended on her.

"Come on Carrots, let's go wake up Wolford, I'm sure he enjoyed his extended nap" Nick said as they both returned to the cafeteria.


	5. Chapter 4: Darkness Rises

Welcome back to another chapter of The Amazing Nick Wilde, where currently live school is coming back in session after winter break so writing will become more difficult as the year gets going. I will attempt to be consistent and upload every Wednesday or Thursday. Thank you once again for clicking onto the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

So just a warning, this is where the M rating will take effect fully. I personally understand depression and suicidal thoughts as I had them at one point. It is a very rough time for everyone and anyone who has it, this story will throw some of the characters through the experiences that some teens would have as they went through high school and depression is sometimes sadly a part of it. If anyone reading this as any sort of depression talk about it with an adult you trust or call the suicide hotline, it will get better always. Anything said in this story is not meant to be taken as a joke and I'm not making fun of this problem in anyway because like I said I have experienced this myself.

After lunch Nick had a few other classes, luckily no one messed with him. Probably because of the display that Wolford had put on with the lynx who Nick found out had had his jaw completely snapped off its hinge. No matter where Nick went, whether he was walking in the halls, sitting in a class, or even using the bathroom Wolford was always there making sure Nick was safe. He did appreciate it but Nick also wanted to be seen as an independent not wanting anyone to cover his ass for him. He could take the hits, he had done it all his life.

And it wasn't just Wolford either, there was something else that made Nick feel like he was being watched constantly. 'Maybe I'm getting super senses or something' Nick thought but without much excitement. He was not expecting powers, let alone anytime soon. There was something familiar about the feeling of being watched to not in general but this specific feeling. But whatever it was it stopped just as the bell rang for the end of the day.

The masses of students stampeded through the halls heading to the landing/takeoff strip where the busses were currently waiting. Nick climbed down the steps and hopped onto the bus. The ride was uneventful other than the rough landing that the driver had to apologize for. He was a rather large cheetah with a name tag that read "Benjamin Clawhauser" and it also said that he has been a bus driver for five years. 'Huh that name sounds familiar' Nick thought as he stepped off the bus and headed home after a very VERY long day.

Nick shoved the door open and slammed his back against it shutting it before sliding his back down exasperated. The day could have gone worse like the event at the Junior Ranger Scouts initiation. But it still left Nick not wanting to ever leave the house again, 'what was the point' Nick thought, 'I have two super strong parents why do I have to even train as super hero?'. He gave up thinking and decided to just focus on completing the homework he was assigned.

Nick attempted to sneak past the kitchen where his mother was currently preparing the nights dinner. With her back towards him he thought there was no way she would know he was even home. He moved as silently as he could but right before he reached his door his mother caught sense of him being home.

"So Nick how was your first day?" She asked.

"Uh… good" Nick hesitated, attempting to put on a happy face. He lied all the time (just part of the whole being a fox thing) but he did not like lying to his parents. He didn't know if she could sense his thoughts or his lies because she quickly turned to him.

"That bad hm?" She asked again putting on the motherly sympathy.

"Well it certainly could have gone better" he said dropping his act, "I saw Willy again."

"Really, he has powers? I don't think either of his parents have powers" she said dumbfounded.

"Yeah he's got super strength its kind of crazy, he's grown a lot, and I mean A LOT"

"Hm maybe we could have you two have a little play date, that would nice"

Nick looked at her with embarrassment "Mom I'm 16 we don't have play dates at this age, we go to places and hangout."

"Oh sorry honey but you will always be my little fox" she grabbed Nick and squeezed him in a tight hug, Nick pushed away but couldn't escape his mothers tight grasp.

"Ok mom please let me go I have to go do homework" Nick said finally getting out when she let him go. He went to his room, flipped on the light, and shut the door leaving it open a crack. He threw his bag down on the floor and lay on his bed. 'What is the point, why bother doing the homework. I'm not going tomorrow, and maybe if I'm forced to go back then not doing my homework can lead to me getting kicked out'

While Nick was in his room, his dad was just returning home from his day of observing.

"So what did he tell you?" Nicks dad (Edward) asked as he came up from the secret passage that came from their hideout.

"No, other than the fact that he met up with Wolford like you planned" Amelia responded

"Ok well everything was going as planned until a rabbit came and spoiled everything in the first class by getting into his head and telling his whole class the lack of powers he the fact that we are his parents. She is quite the powerful bunny, she not only read his mind but also controlled his body and has strength that is respectable for someone of her size" Edward explained. "We should keep an eye on her, someone with that much power could be a great danger if the other side got their hands on her".

"Hm what was her name?" Amelia asked

"Oh uh I think it was Judy Hopps"

"Hmm well if she is is gonna try to make Nick the biggest embarrassment in school and tell everyone his secrets I think we should make a visit to her don't you?"

Edward laughed at this, "You were always the aggressive type weren't you Amelia, no I don't think we should because she went and apologized for it afterwards. She actually seems nice she even sat with Nick during lunch according to Wolford, although they did leave while he somehow fell asleep while they did, and I wasn't there to see what they did or talked about"

Suddenly Nicks door, which was originally just cracked open, now opened up all the way. His parents looked at him with surprise, 'how much of that did he just hear?' They both thought at the same time.

"You were there the whole time? Even when a lynx almost broke my nose, or when that rabbit ruined my life and my chance of having any social standing. You're telling me that you simply allowed for me to have the worst day of my life?" Nick whispered through tears making their way down his face.

"Nick liste-" Edward trued to sat before being interrupted by Nick.

"No don't give me no bull shit answer I want the truth dad please." There was a long pause as Edward decided whether to tell the actual truth or not, he in the end decided to give him the truth.

"Yes Nick I was there, but I didn't step in at any of those points because you need to learn how to stand for yourself now that you are going to become a super hero, you must face adversity's similar to those that me and your mother face everyd-" He was once again interrupted

"Oh so you and mom face bullying, and this constant nagging by your supposed friends, or maybe the fact that I'm one day in and I almost feel like I want to kill myself, huh do you experience that?"

"Hold on Nick calm down, don't speak like that" Amelia now spoke up, "why didn't you tell me you felt like that?"

"I don't know probably because you two are the ones forcing me to go to this school" Nick suddenly felt another presence among them, but this sense was extremely strong almost like he knew exactly where this being was.

"Nick, please we need you to talk to us if you really feel this way. We love you and we want what's best for you" Amelia said starting to sound like a broken record.

"Just leave me alone I need time to think about all this and decide who I can really trust" Nick said simply trying to get away from this situation to find this mammal near the house. He turned around and slammed his door shut locking it.

Whoever was here was outside his window.

'Hey Nick' It was Judy to Nicks surprise. He went and opened the curtain to see the rabbit standing right behind the pane of glass. "Oh my Gosh you have to be kidding me" Nick said to himself opening the window.

"Carrots what are you doing here at my house? Or better yet how do you know where I live?"

"Oh well I kind of got your address when I made the link to you, and earlier you said that you were going to teach me how to not let people get to me, I've been out here for a couple of minute I just didn't say anything because umm…"

"Because wha- oh you heard all of that"

"Yeeaaahh it's a burden of my powers that I can't just block out loud conversation that I hear. But hey I think we're friends now so you can talk about it with me"

"Hold up there Fluff I said I would help you that doesn't exactly mean you're suddenly my closest friend if a friend at all, you're more like an acquaintance, and there is no way I'm opening up to the mammal who was part of the reason for me having the worst day ever" Nick said with a twinge of regret, he did want to be friends with her but not with his dad being untrustworthy how could he trust her.

"Oh ok well can you at least help me, maybe I can help you take your mind off all that is going on" she said blinking and cocking her hips to the side 'wait is she flirting with me or something' Nick thought

'No I'm not' came a yell inside Nicks own head.

"Nick just let me in." Judy said with finality

Nick let out an overly dramatic sigh "Fine we just gotta stay quiet otherwise my parents are gonna freak, and as you've probably heard from your eavesdropping my mom isn't your biggest fan right now"

Judy nodded and climbed through the window with ease making herself comfortable on Nicks desk chair which was comedically large for a bunny because it was built for a fox.

"Alright so how do I do it" She asked looking excited and ready to learn.

"Do what?" Nick asked dumbfounded, this caused Judy's ears to dip behind her head.

"How do you not show any emotion when insulted straight to your face, I have seen you do it, I've heard stories about you doing it from some of your 'friends'" she said that word while doing quotation fingers.

"Oh well uh you see I kind of just… I… I guess I just do it" Nick said trying to think back on how long he had kept his emotions to himself.

"Oookkkaaayy well did anyone teach you how to do it?" Judy continued to question.

Nick thought about this for awhile, he had never really thought of how he had figured out how to do it, it just came naturally to him. Or at least natural since that even occurred.

"An event, was it some sort of life changing epiphany that caused you to shut everyone out of your life?"

This made Nick mad now "Ok Carrots you really need to like end this link think you've done to me because there are things up here that you should not know about. And that event I have never told anyone and I'm not about to tell it to you" Nick said to her with venom in every word.

"Nick I'm sorry but I can't just end a connection it just will go away eventually. I won't go poking around anywhere I shouldn't be though I promise you that" Nick couldn't be mad at her, she had the face of sympathy that reminded Nick of himself when he was younger.

Nick let out another sigh, he was becoming pretty good at letting out really depressing sighs with the amount he had been doing lately.

"Listen Judy, something just happened to me when I was younger that really ruined my outlook on life and it hasn't gotten any better throughout the years that's when I started going all this. You know the whole don't give a damn thing. I can't teach you because you haven't really experienced something as drastic as what happened to me" Nick said apologetically.

"Ok well can you at least explain what goes through your head when people are insulting you?"

"Yeah I can do that. No matter how harsh people are to me, no matter what they say or do I repeat this mantra in my head… Never let them see that they get to you"

"Never let them see that they get to you" she echoed back to him. "So even if someone is nice to you, you just treat them the same as everyone else?"

"Well I mean I'm allowing myself to talk to you openly so I guess that means I like you enough to care"

Nick looked as surprised as Judy was after he had said that 'why did I just say that' he thought to himself. "I mean like you as friends nothing else, not even that acquaintances like I said earlier"

Nick got up to try and move to the other side of the room but his legs gave out right when he stood up so he collapsed to his knees. A pain shot straight through his head that hit him so hard that he could barely breath. Judy let out a quiet scream as Nick fell apart right in front of him.

"Nick are you ok what's the matter?"

The only thing Nick could do was gasp for air and reach for nothing as his vision became blurry and then extremely bright then he could see everything even through his walls. He could see his parents talking in the kitchen looking at his door wondering what the commotion was. Not only that but he could feel and hear everything that was happening within himself. 'What is happening' he thought. The pain and all that was going on caused Nick to completely forget about the fact that Judy was in the room with him.

Whenever he thought it couldn't get any worse the pain would come back sharper than ever like someone's hand was squeezing his hand with a metal gauntlet or stabbing a knife right between his eyes. Colors and different shades and affects flashed by Nicks vision.

Judy watched in horror as Nick just lay on the ground gasping for breath and staring blankly up to the ceiling, his body convulsing in strange ways. 'Nick can you hear me?' Judy asked inside Nicks head, it was almost like talking to someone during a snow storm. Nicks head was being bombarded by new impulses and different things that not even she could understand, but through all of this she could hear Nick whispering in pain in his own head. 'Help me'.

'Ok I can do something about it but it may hurt you I've never done this with a living being'

She sat down right above Nicks head allowing it to lie there gently in her lap. She put her hands on either sides of his head just next to his eyes. She put all her energy through the palms of her hands and into his head causing a small light to form where her hands met his skull. The convulsing stopped instantly but the gasping didn't stop and neither did the dead look in his eyes.

'It's working' she could hear Nick whisper in his head.

She continued to force all of her energy almost causing her to pass out but she had to stay awake for Nick's sake.

Eventually his breathing calmed down and the pain in his head was going away. The cycle of changing vision began to slow until his normal vision returned. He closed his eyes relishing in the feeling of coming back to earth, like he had been in a spaceship coming down for a crash landing. He was safe, and a feeling of serenity washed over him.

Nick didn't feel like moving, his entire body felt like it had been beaten all over, and his head still had a dull ache.

"What just happened" is all he could get out of his mouth when could speak, each word causing a slight wave of pain to wash over him.

"I have no idea, it wasn't my fault I assure you no one has ever reacted like that when I created the link with them." Judy said with the most soothing voice Nick ever heard in his life.

"You saved me from whatever that was" he opened eyes to stare into her violet pools "thank you"

This was a different thank you in Judy's mind, he was being extremely serious and meant every word.

"Has that ever happened before?" She asked

"No that's never happened, but there's definitely something new up there"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I can sense everything I can hear the sound of the electricity running through this house, I can sense everyone's presence in this house and around it, its like my senses are on… super… mode" a realization hit Nick, 'could this be my first power'.

"Wait you said you could sense people in and around the house, we're in the house along with your parents so who else is here?"

Realization hit Nick as he felt the presence grow closer and the sound of a fuse hissing.

"We need to move now" Nick said getting up as quickly as his achy body would let him. He was being bombarded by all sorts of signals and could barely stand until Judy rushed to his side to help hold him up.

They got to the door just in time for Nick to scream "Everyone get down", his parents looked at him with confusion. The fuse stopped and he knew what was about to follow.

A shock wave ripped through his house as a fire ball exploded from the front door. The force caused Nick to fall back taking Judy with him. His parents ducked to the ground just dodging are large amount of shrapnel that flew over their head.

Nicks vision got blurry and turned dark again, he was blacking out, 'you know with everything that's happened today I think a rest is well worth it' then the rest of his world faded to black as he closed his eyes and fell unconscious. Judy could feel the connection slip as well as hearing every word that Nick thought. He was out but still alive that's all that mattered. Nicks parents got up slowly and stumbled over to where the two mammals were lying. As they made their way over they were hit by what looked like darts but spread out over their body letting out a loud "zzzt". Both of the parents screamed in agony as electricity surged through their body as they fell to the ground.

A large figure moved through the hole that was once the front door, as well as several other figures moving to surround the group in which 3 of them were now incapacitated. The large figure at the center stepped up in front of the group taking out a scanner looking device. The mammal was at least the size of a lion but skinnier with two arms and two legs like every other living thing in Zootopia. There was nothing giving away a species, the other mammals in the room were easily distinguished as timberwolves all dressed in black with masks covering their face.

The center mammal scanned first Nicks parent, but didn't seem satisfied by it and moved on to Judy but barely paid her any attention either. But once she was on Nick she looked closer at her scanner which was now beeping as if it found what it was looking for.

"This is the one, take it and move it back to base alive I need its power for the plan to work, but I must drain it from him first" the voice was very deep and was clearly being modified by the helmet it was using so Judy couldn't distinguish whether it was a guy or a girl. The entire front of the helmet was a sheet of reflective gold but the back was a dark black metal, it wore an all black body armor type suit with a dark flowing cape behind her.

The wolves sprung into action at the words or their obvious leader rushing over and shoving Judy to the side next to Nicks parents, they grabbed a hold of Nick and were about to depart when Mr. Wilde spoke up through the pain of the electricity.

"Don't take him please he has no powers, he's just a normal kid take me instead just leave my boy" he sounded on the verge of tears. The tall leader stepped up to Mr. Wilde and swung its foot connection directly with his face rolling him over to his other side.

"Edward" Mrs. Wilde cried out. The figure then stepped up to her picked her up and simply tossed her across the room like she was a pebble. Then it stepped over to Judy who was cowering in fear and holding back tears. It bent down to her level but didn't do anything to harm her, instead it turned around and looked at the nearest wolf.

"Kill them all, the bunny first, I'm heading off, remember be sure he gets to base safely and alive" it said the last part to the wolf who held Nicks body who had not left yet. It then looked up as rockets in its boots were activated sending the figure through he roof and into the night. A wolf stepped up raising its gun aiming it at Judy. Judy sat there with her eyes closed as both of Nicks parents closed their eyes not wanting to watch someone die in front of them although neither of them knew how a rabbit had gotten into their house. They awaited the sound of the bullet and the crush of a skull, but it never came.

They opened their eyes to see that the wolf had stood back up and put his gun down.

"What are you doing get on with it and kill her" the wolf holding Nicks body said. The wolf standing before Judy didn't even acknowledge the wolf ordering him. Another wolf stepped up and shook the executor "what are you doing man take her out" the wolves were beginning to get irritated now but the wolf still didn't speak. Instead it raised its gunning taking out the wolf directly in front of him, then he re-aimed and took out the one holding Nick. He went one by one through the entirety of the small army in the house until there was one left and the gun was out of ammo. The last wolf charged with his weapon which was a large knife or more of a machete. The wolf that had turned treasonous didn't even flinch as the machete buried itself into his shoulder. The attacker looked at him with surprise as the wolf that had turned grabbed the machete ripped in out of his own shoulder and then stepped up plunging it into the attackers stomach. It didn't even utter a scream, just let out its final breath of air and then collapsed to the ground. As soon as the last wolf fell to the ground the wolf that had turned soon fell to his knees before landing head down in the rubble that was the Wilde house.

There was silence. The electricity in the restraints had turned off so the Wildes were free, they could hear nothing. All the wolves in the room were now dead, there must have been at least 15 of them lying around in a circle with blood slowly spilling out of them. Actually there was one noise, it was coming from the rabbit that was huddled in a ball, and the sound was her sobbing. It didn't take long for them to figure out why wolf had turned on his team. 'She just killed 15 mammals' Edward thought. He bent down and pulled her into a tight hug as she continued to sob into his shirt.

Both parents were speechless, Amelia went to check and be sure Nick was ok, while Edward bent down to one knee looking at this rabbit at eye level.

"Judy Hopps right?" Edward asked still in shock, Judy only nodded in response crying her pain away.

"Well Judy, I just have to say thank you for saving out lives" Edward said as sincere as her could. Judy didn't respond she simply pulled Edward back into a hug tears now rolling down his face as well.

They all sat there for awhile recovering from the events that just occurred while sirens rang in the distance signaling that help was on its way.

Well that was really intense, not gonna lie I wasn't even planning for this chapter to become so dark. I will try to lighten the mood in the next chapters. But for those who haven't figured out Nick has gotten a power, (or so he thinks), I tried to make it sort of like a spider sense for all you Spider-Man fans out there. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you have a great day!


	6. Chapter 5: A Change Gonna Come

I know I know, its been like two weeks and I said I would post Wednesday or Thursday but balancing music, school, and this is very difficult but I am trying my hardest to write these as good and as quickly as I can. Anyways enough blabbering, please enjoy this chapter and leave a review or pm me for any ideas you might have or just to say hello I certainly do appreciate it!

I do not own any of zootopia that is all Disney.

There were four other mammals in the room, Nick could discern that, but other then that he couldn't move or control anything about what was happening around him. He knew his eyes were closed and that he was unconscious but he could see the shape of the room and the mammals inside, he could he them talking but it all sounded like a bunch of mumbling. It didn't occur to him where he was or how he got there but he felt safe, the threat that plagued him earlier was gone. Now he had to just wait to wake up…

"So doctor how is he?" Edward said standing up when the large grizzly bear in a white coat stepped into the room.

"Well if all the readings are correct there is no reason why he shouldn't be awake, his heart is pumping normally, there's no injuries anywhere except for a slight bump on the head that should heal up in no time. And strangest of all his brain is functioning perfectly if not more than the normal unconscious mammal." The doctor said pulling out a large sheet of film and hanging it on on a light frame. The sheet displayed a MRI scan with two different readings on it.

"This" he said pointing to the brain that had very little activity going on in it, "is the brain of a normal mammal who is asleep, while this" pointing to the brain that was full of color and activity, "is Nick's brain, you may notice there is a pretty big difference between the two, in fact Nick's brain is functioning more than the average mammal when they are awake. It isn't harming him in anyway it is just an odd occurrence that not even I have seen before".

This surprised all the mammals in the room looking at each other and then to the unconscious fox lying in the bed. All the mammals except one who was also lying in a bed just next to Nicks. She was lying down looking at the ceiling as if her whole world was falling apart, there were dried tear marks on her face as well as a damp hospital gown they had given her instead of the bloody clothes she had on.

"And what's wrong with her?" Amelia asked.

"Oh she's also physically okay but she appears to just be going through shock, whatever happened to all of you must have really freaked her out" the doctor said not even giving the two adults a second glance. They both looked at each other with concern plastered on their faces. They had gone to a normal hospital and not the secret hero hospital because they thought the injuries weren't that severe. But as soon as they arrived the mammals in the ER gave them suspicious glares, maybe because they were foxes carrying in a crying bunny or maybe because they were carrying a bloody rabbit, or maybe even just the fact that they were foxes.

Either way they got a room and did their tests quickly and with little asking about what had happened. It was now the next morning and things hadn't gotten much better. She was just a shell of her old self, nothing more nothing less.

"Alright I have a few more patients to check on, but if anything happens just hit the buzzer and a nurse will be right in to help you". The doctor said heading out the door and closing it behind him. The room then filled with silence aside from the beeping of Nicks heart monitor. The two parents stared at their son then switching to the bunny in the bed.

Amelia was the first one to break the silence even though it was barely more than a whisper.

"How did she even get into the house?" She asked.

"I'm not sure but I'm sure glad she was there otherwise who knows where Nick would be right now". Edward responded as he was the only other conscious person in the room.

"I think you should say something to her"

"What, I already said thank you for saving our lives" Edward responded exasperated.

"Yes but she has never killed anyone before, clearly"

"Well neither have we, we normally just capture and arrest"

"I still think you need to say something" she said looking at Edward with a pleading face.

He sat there thinking about it for a minute, with his decision made he cracked his back and made his way over to the rabbits bed. He grabbed one of the nearby chairs and sat down thinking about what he was going to say.

"Listen Judy, I… I know this is really new and um… difficult to go through on your own but… you got us if you need to talk about it" Edward stuttered out.

The only acknowledgment that he got from her was the movement of her eyes to look at him.

'Well that's a start' he thought.

"Oh you're probably wondering how I would know how to help you at all, well um me and my wife here, were both super hero's. I don't know how much you already know about us and our family. But I know that you are a very strong bunny and you protected me and my family so thank you for tha…" Edward was interrupted by a knock on the door and the sound of it opening. In walked a very large buffalo. Now this should have come across as intimidating for the two foxes but they have known this buffalo for years, he just didn't know them. It was none other than the chief of police, Adrian Bogo. He looked at the foxes and the face he made was one of indifference.

"Are either of them going to have any permanent damage?" He asked

"Our son will be fine but this bunny here was put under a lot of distress from the violence she witnessed" Edward replied.

"Hmph I think she will be ok, if it wasn't for one of the soldiers turning on the rest you all would have been in a different place" Bogo said not losing his demanding stature at all even though his words almost carried a note of sympathy.

"Yes we were very lucky indeed" Edward said looking at Amelia with a knowing look. A look that Bogo didn't seem to notice.

"Either way I have a few questions for you relating to the events that occurred in your house if that is alright."

"Yeah that will be fine" Edward responded.

Now Bogo was the one to pull up a chair, but he kept it near the end of the rabbits bed.

He grabbed his notepad cleared his throat and began his interview.

"Can you tell me anything about the soldiers, were they under any direction or were they just a random freelance group?" Bogo asked clicking his pen.

"They were under direction, some large mammal in a suit made up of what looked like metal, maybe iron armor or something along those lines. I cannot tell you what kind of mammal they were or what gender they were as they were masking their voice with some sort of jammer." Edward responded remembering it all to clearly.

"Mmhm, and have you ever done anything to maybe make this individual have a vendetta against you?" Bogo continued asking after jotting a few things down on his paper.

"Uuuuuh" Edward froze looking over to Amelia to see how she wanted him to respond. All she did was shake her head which gave him all he needed. "No, no I have not"

Bogo didn't look to convinced with that answer but nodded either way. "Okay, and now a more pressing matter, how did this rabbit become under the guardianship of two foxes?"

"Sir I actually have no idea how she ended up in our house, it must have been our son who let her in without us knowing, they're friends at school"

"Alright I'm gonna believe that because there is nothing else to believe at this point till I hear from her, but for now I will leave you alone for now just let me know when they wake up"

"Will do sir" Edward said nodding as Bogo returned the nod as he walked out.

When the loud footsteps faded away and the silence returned Edward decided to let out along sigh.

"What's the matter honey?" Amelia asked coming over and kneeling down next to his chair.

"I feel like this is all my fault, if I had seen any of this coming I could have prevented it and now there wouldn't be another villain out there threatening our family"

Amelia responded by grabbing his face and smacking it with her paw

"Don't you ever say that, this is none of our faults, there was no way for us to know they were coming. And both of us were trapped so we couldn't protect them, just be glad that Judy here did something to help us when we couldn't have."

Edward nodded but still wasn't quite convinced, he turned his attention back to his son wondering when and if he would wake up…

Things were happening in Nick's mind, he didn't know what but he could almost see the entire room he was in but with full detail, and his eyes weren't even open. He could see other mammals in other rooms. He heard the conversation that his parents and the chief had, and he could see Judy in her bed. He felt so in control of his mind that he felt he could get up and move around. He wanted to get up and comfort Judy as he knew she was struggling, he could feel it. It's like his mind was trapped inside his own body.

'I have to try doing something' he thought. He pushed against the barrier of his own mind there was nothing there but he fought to get any signal any movement out to his parents that he was ok. Suddenly he felt conscious but when he opened his eyes he realized that something wasn't right. He was standing next to his bed right next to where his parents were sitting but they didn't even acknowledge his presence. He almost lost it when he looked over to his bed to see his body sleeping comfortably. He looked at his own body and could see straight through his own hand, he was wearing his hospital gown but it was all see through.

'Oh my god, I'm a ghost. Oh my god does that mean I'm dead.' He thought to himself. No, his heart monitor was still beeping so he was still alive. It was like his spirit and mind were outside his body.

'If I can make myself do this then could I…' he walked over to Judy's bed and stood over her. He reached down and grabbed her shoulders, he felt something but it wasn't her physical body. Her eyes fluttered shut as if she suddenly fell asleep and a partially invisible version of her came out of her body. Her spirit was also asleep, "Carrots" he said shaking her spirit a bit trying to wake her up. "Hopps… Judy". She finally opened her eyes and gasped for breath. She looked around frantically but hadn't fully taken in all that was happening to them currently.

"Oh Nick you're awake" She said hugging him. It was strange neither of them were physical but they oiled still feel each other. Nick returned the hug happily, she seemed to be her normal self considering all that has happened.

"Judy, are you noticing anything different?" He asked pushing her back and kneeling down to make eye contact with her. She gave him a confused look until realization hit her like a bus.

"Nick why can I see through you?" She asked reaching her had up to his muzzle. Then she caught sight of her own paw and gasped. "Why can I see through myself, Nick what is going on?"

Nick grabbed her shoulders and spun her to face her body. "Oh my god am I dead?"

Nick chuckled at that, "My goodness do you ask a lot of questions. No you are not dead, and no I do not know what is going on." Judy turned back to Nick her ears tucked behind her head, Nick could sense the fewer coming off of her so he pulled her back into a hug. "Its ok it just seems like our spirits are now outside of our body even though our body is perfectly fine."

Judy still didn't seem to really understand, but she only nodded in response closing her eyes and leaning into the hug even more. Nick almost continued to hug her until he realized the position he was in, he barely knew her, 'I can't just change everything because new things are happening to me.' So he pushed her away even though it felt very wrong.

"Hey I think I figured out why I nearly 'died' last night" Nick said trying to lighten the mood while putting air quotes around died.

Judy seemed to realize this as she looked up at him with surprise in her eyes and a smile made its way onto her face. "Sweet cheese and crackers Nick you have powers!" She screamed completely ignoring the fact that other mammals were in the room, even though they couldn't hear them it still felt wrong.

"We have to tell everyone, they need to know, maybe the mammals at school will leave you alone, oh my gosh this is such good news we can –"

"Carrots"

"Or maybe we could-"

"Fluff"

"Ooh and we will-"

"JUDY!" This silenced her. 'Finally' Nick thought.

"Listen Carrots I want to keep this our little secret"

This perplexed Judy, "Wha… Why?"

"We have only been in school for one day, and we're missing the second day today because of all this. I just don't think going in on day three saying I just got powers will make everyone suddenly become my friends, in fact I bet you they will think its some prank or scheme." Nick said trying to reason with Judy 'Although it would feel really good to rub it in everyone else's face that I'm not some dumb weakling fox' He thought.

"But what if I backed you up I've proven myself to all of them-"

"That's the thing Hopps, you told me yesterday that other students were making fun of you. If you suddenly started backing up a fox then that would not help your reputation either."

"Nick I don't care, you're my friend. And I don't care if you think were not friends because we are. I'm looking out for you, and you're looking out for me."

"Fluff if you're really my friend then will you do me a favor and keep this a secret, Alright that's is end of discussion." Nick said with finality stepping away towards the window where the morning sun was bleeding in.

"O… Ok." She said sitting on the bed.

They say there in the quiet for a bit not speaking.

Then a thought hit Judy, "Hey Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"That mammal that attacked us, said that you were the most powerful mammal in that room last night."

"There is no way he could be the most powerful, were two of the strongest mammals in the world" Edward said looking at his wife like she had grown three more heads.

"I know, I know but what if their scanner device thing is right, and his powers just haven't developed yet, and when they do he will be stronger than both of us?"

"That would be insane" Nick said chuckling at the idea of being the most powerful mammal.

"But I only have one power there's no way it will cause me to be so strong"

"I don't know, maybe if you've gotten this one more will follow"

"So that villain was trying to take me but what do you think she trying to take me for?"

"I don't know maybe they were trying to drain his powers" Amelia was now the one answering the questions.

"Or worse they were going to take him brain wash him and turn him into some sort of super villain." Edward said with a worried look on his face.

"My gosh do you think someone would actually do that to me?" Nick asked

"I have no idea but we have to protect him if they try again" Amelia said.

"Don't worry Nick remember I got your back and you got mine" Judy said with a confidence that made the fox feel safe.

"Right, we got this" it was strange it was almost like this conversation was happening two times in the same place.

"Alright Nick I think we're done here we should probably go back to our bodies."

"Yeah I think we just jump in, I guess. I've never really done this."

"Well it's worth a shot" Judy said standing over her body on the bed, she then jumped up and into her body just like it was a small pool, and her bodies eyes opened back up like she woke up from a simple nap.

Nick was next, he jumped up and dove into his body. It was like he travelled through a wormhole or something, as he approached a light. When he reached the light he opened his eyes to see his hospital room, with a new confidence that nothing would get in the way of him or the bunny he now called his friend.

'Hm friend I think I could get used to that'


	7. Chapter 6: He Who Knows

Edward was the first to notice it, there was a change in the room. That something powerful or strong had just shown up in the room. He looked around to look for the source but saw nothing out of the ordinary. One thing he did notice was that Judy's eyes had opened. 'That was strange she must have just needed a quick nap' he thought, because she was no longer in a state of staring at the ceiling she was moving, like nothing ever happened. He then looked over at Nick who was also awake.

"Amelia he's awake" he said as he got up from his chair to go hug his son.

Nick was in a daze, he had been asleep for nearly 15 hours. His body was so out of it that he could barely move. But when he saw his parents he couldn't help but smile, its not like he wasn't just in the same room as them but now he could actually touch them and feel their love something he often took for granted.

"Morning already?" Nick asked with a teasing tone and a smirk back on his face. Nick warmly accepted his fathers hug and then his mom.

"Oh Nick we're so happy you're ok" Amelia said after kissing Nick on the forehead.

"Yeah so am I" Nick stated returning to his snarky mood that made their parents relax remembering the arguments that they had last night.

Nicks senses were all going haywire so he didn't really know what was happening. Once again he could see mammals in the rooms next door, hear voices coming from the whole hospital, and even sense the emotions that some of them had who were close to him. It took a lot of effort to control this so he could comprehend what his parents or saying. It was like the static of a tv that was just around him.

Then everyone's eyes shifted over to the bunny who was now sitting up in her bed looking at the family with adoration.

"Judy, honey, where are your parents?" Amelia asked not remembering if anyone even told them about what happened.

"Oh they're out in Bunny Burrow farming probably, I live in the city on my own" Judy responded.

"Well since there is no one here to hug you I will do it" Amelia stepped away from Nicks bed and over to Judy's wrapping the bunny up in her arms.

Just then loud screaming could be heard outside. For Nick he could easily tell that it was two small mammals and a larger one he recognized as the Chief Bogo, the other two were smaller and had many similarities to Judy. The screaming got louder and louder till they were just outside the door. The yelling soon stopped and the door opened revealing two rabbits with the large buffalo standing behind them. One of the rabbits wore overalls and a net hat, the other was wearing a flannel shirt with jeans. They were early not from the city leading the foxes in the room to quickly figure out who they were.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me" The male said when he saw Judy hugging Amelia. Judy and her quickly released each other acting like nothing had happened.

"You young lady are coming home right now" he said regaining his composure and approaching the bed.

Judy looked dumbstruck, "what, why?"

"Wha- what do you mean why, you were nearly killed by a small army, and when we come to check on you, your in a room with a bunch of foxes" the last word was spat out as he glared over at the family standing back. Nick didn't even flinch at the harsh words, he still was used to it.

"Dad! Its not their fault that this attack happened and it certainly does not mean I have to come home, I have these…" She paused when she remembered Chief Bogo was standing in the door way, she couldn't just go yelling out that she had powers. Soon everyone was staring at the Cape buffalo who didn't notice till Edward cleared his throat. When he saw all their faces, he understood what everyone was asking for.

"Oh uh I will be out here, I still need to talk to them when you are all done." He said awkwardly as he shut the door. Everyone in the room stared at the door for a few more seconds before looking back at Judy waiting for her to finish what she was saying.

"Anyways, I have these powers so I can easily protect myself, don't need to come home"

"Sure you may have powers but what if those aren't enough hmm? What if… if… you get attacked by someone you can't control?"

"Well then I would just figure it out, its all a part of the hero training at school"

"Judy dear, I think what your father is trying to say is that we're worried about you. You're out here all by yourself, have you even made any friends out here or at your school?" The mom asked stepping forward and taking her husbands arm to calm him down.

"Actually yes I do have a friend, and he's lying in that bed right over there" Judy said pointing over at Nick who was definitely not ready for all eyes to be on him.

"Uhh hello" Nick said giving her parents a shy wave.

Both the parents simply gaped at the thought of their daughter being friends with a fox. Her father went from shock to immediate anger.

"So you're telling me, that you are friends with a FOX" The father yelled. "You know they are sly, lying, sneaky bastards who will ta-"

"Alright I think that's enough" Edward said standing up from next to Nicks bed. Edward wanted nothing more than to punt this son of a bitch to the moon, but he knew that would not help this situation, so instead he stood up and straightened the shirt he was wearing. He then stepped forward and reached out a hand to the male.

"I believe it is pretty rude to call someone's species these names without even getting to know one of them, so hello I'm Edward Wilde, this is my wife Amelia and my son Nick Wilde. And if there was ever any statement more incorrect than what you just said well I've never heard it. Our jobs are pretty important for this whole city. Although I can't say what exactly you probably see me and her in the news more often than you think. So how about you take back all those words and listen to what your daughter is telling you, because hey she saved our lives last night" Edward sounded diplomatic like he had written out that speech and had it memorized and ready to go at anytime.

The bunny looked at Edwards out reached paw with disgust, that is till his wife elbowed him.

"The name is Stu, and this is Bonnie" The rabbit replied gruffly, shaking the foxes paw,clearly not happy that he had to do that.

"Now we're getting somewhere" Edward said in a calm voice a smile pushing its way onto his face.

There was yet another knock on the door, Chief Bogo stuck his head in once again, "Is everyone all set I really need to ask these two some questions and then I will get right out of your fur" He said politely.

The two sets of parents looked at each other and then nodded at the chief, they all stepped out into the hall where they continued to talk. Nick was sitting up in his bed listening to the conversation testing the waters with this new ability he had, he could zone in and hear each individuals heart beat blocking out the rest of the noise. He was then brought back into the room by the sound of Bogo turning the chair that his dad was just sitting in so that he was facing both beds. He then pulled a tiny pair of glasses which barely fit on his face and looked at the clip board in his hands.

"So two more god damn kids with powers, I hope you will learn that we must get along really well for this city to remain the safe haven it has been for years" he looked up from the clip board to see a fox and a bunny mouth with open.

"Yes I know that you have powers," he said pointing at Judy, "I've known since you first set foot in this city" Judy's ears flushed red with embarrassment, she wasn't that obvious?

"And you," He said looking over at Nick, "I know who your parents are and there is no way that those two didn't give birth to a powerless kit… also call it a sixth sense but I can feel something off about you, its almost an aura you give off, like power radiating off the sun" Nick couldn't help but swallow with a loud gulp.

"In fact we have been watching you since we knew of your existence simply because you supposedly have no powers" He says with air quotes, "but right here right now I'm calling B S on that"

Both Nick and Judy were still in shock but Nick was trying his best to hide his surprise behind his mask (he wasn't doing a very good job).

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone, I have never told before, not even for your parents" He said pointing at Nick, "and I don't know why I'm telling you two that I know to be honest with you, I have this weird feeling that you two are like main characters of a story" They all paused at that.

"Anyways, I don't agree with superhero's or vigilante justice, but I also know that without them this town would be a real hell hole" there was another moment of silence which was broken by Bogo clapping his hooves together causing the other two mammals to flinch.

"Alright, lets get to the actual questions now shall we" He said once again looking down at his clipboard clicking the pen he pulled from his pocket.

"Now what exactly was the reason for this masked mammal to be in your house Mr. Wilde?"

Instead of answering Nick looked over at Judy, he wasn't sure if he should give the whole truth, part of the truth, or none of the truth at all. He had only just met the guy and he still seemed to hold some secrets. All Judy did was nod, leaving Nick in the dark. 'Alright then its time to improvise'.

"Well they came in through the front door, with a pretty massive explosion that knocked us all on our ass, the mammal in question though seemed to be looking in the wrong place for something. That something I have no idea what exactly it is." To be quite honest Nick had no idea what exactly happened because he had been knocked out at the time, so he was going off what was told, keeping out the specific details that the masked mammal was actually looking for him.

"Mmhmm" was all he said scribbling down some notes onto his paper, "And do you know where they could have possibly gone to when they left through your roof?"

"Oh gee that's really really broad question, I have no idea home, to base, to their bed room so they could go to sleep after a great night of plundering" Nick said with a lot of sarcasm.

"Hmm, and finally a question for both of you, why did one out of maybe 20 soldiers decide to turn on his squad who was all armed and kill every last one of his associates?"

Nick had no idea that had happened, there was so much now that Nick was realizing, like plot holes to a story. How did they all make it out of there alive. There were 20 mammals in there, it must have been his parents, he thought to himself. What Nick didn't see was Judy tense up and her eyes widen. 'Nick didn't know, no one had told him as of yet, should I say something?' She was becoming indecisive but before she could respond Nick came in to save the day without knowing he was.

"Well maybe he was some sort of double agent, didn't actually work for the masked mammal, was only there to gain intel, that sounds pretty logical to me." He said smoothly.

Bogo pondered it for a little, he then flipped through some papers he had on his clipboard pulling out one from near the bottom of the small stack.

"If he was a double agent on a suicide mission, surely he wouldn't leave things behind. Like oh I don't know his whole family." Bogo said handing the paper to Nick. The sheet was a document that had all the information of the mammal in question. He was a wolf with extremely white fur, 'almost looked like Wolford' Nick thought. His name was Tim Houndson, he was married and had three kids. He went out on this job leaving behind four mammals that loved him so much knowing that it was a suicide mission.

"I… I don't know what to say sir, surely he knew of the consequences from his job. I mean he worked for a villain." Nick responded losing the joking attitude in place for a much more serious one. He looked over at Judy expecting to see the same somber look. He wasn't disappointed, he was more surprised at what he saw. She was crying, tears were streaming down her face but she held back any noise trying to keep the conversation between only Nick and Bogo. Nick understood what happened almost instantly and quickly looked away from her so that Bogo didn't look over. But Bogo had caught the look in his eyes and looked over at Judy, he let out a big sigh and looked back over at Nick.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Bogo asked in a voice that clearly wasn't happy.

"No, no she's just… just" Nick stuttered, "being an emotional bunny that's all, you know bunny's always being emotional. And that information you told us was really sad must have just hit her hard." He quickly recovered as Bogo looked him up and down. He seemed to accept that answer as he got up from his chair and headed to the door.

"Thank you both for being cooperative, I sure I will see you two again" He said with finality closing the door behind him.

As soon as Bogo left Judy burst into tears, Nick got up from his bed and went to sit down next to her.

"That soldier didn't really just turn on accident did he?" Nick asked quietly putting a paw on her back.

All she did was cry into her hands and nod.

"I didn't want to do it but they left me no choice, they were gonna take you and kill your parents, oh yeah and me." She whimpered, "Don't be mad at me I only did it to protect you."

Nick looked at her in shock, how could he be mad at her. She saved his families life and she thought he would be mad.

"Carrots I'm not mad, I'm not happy but I'm certainly not sad, if you didn't hop on we would all be dead. It was because of you that I'm alive. So I guess all I have to say is thank you."

Judy had stopped crying by now looking up into Nicks emerald eyes, and he staring into her violet eyes. It was in that moment when there was some sort of spark, they both felt it but didn't understand what it meant.

"So don't worry about the mistakes of some wolf that joined the ranks under an evil villain, that was his choice. Hey how about we focus on the fact that we missed school today." Nick said trying to bring back the light hearted mood. However, it didn't help Judy 's mind.

'Great now I have another thing to worry about' she thought to herself.

Now that things seemed to have calmed down Nick got up and went back to his bed, just as his parents and Judy's opened the door. They also seemed to be in a better mood. 'The conversation outside must have gone well' Nick thought.

Stu stepped up next to Judy's bed and took a deep breath. "Listen Judy I apologize for what I said to you, and you too Nick. We were just so worried about her you see? Jude you could have died and we wouldn't have known, do you see where we are coming from?" He asked, both Nick and Judy nodded.

"So does this mean that I can stay here in the city?" Judy asked with pleading eyes.

"Yes, yes you can stay in the city" He replied almost somberly.

Judy jumped up Into the air spinning around at the same time while exclaiming, "YES!"

"However," Stu interrupted her celebration, "After talking with Mr. and Mrs. Wilde here we have decided that they will check in on you once a week to be sure that you are doing fine and they will contact us."

'Wait something here isn't right, they just went from hating foxes to having a family of them check in on their daughter who is living all alone out her in the city, is it just me or does that sound to good to be true?' Nick thought.

Judy seemed to have similar thoughts because her face was scrounged up confusion, "Are you feeling alright dad?"

Stu seemed perplexed by the question, "I'm right as rain Jude the Dude, your healthy, you're starting to make the world a better place just like your dream, and you have a wonderful friend who's parents truly care for your safety. Why wouldn't I be ok?"

"Uh nothing" Judy knew something was wrong but didn't want to change what wonderful things were happening right now, she didn't hate her parents or not worry about them, but she wanted to keep their positivity going.

"Anyways we better get going, we left all of the little children at home so we best be back before the whole burrow gets burned down." Stu and Bonnie stepped over to the two Wilde parents and shook their paws, right when they shook them they snapped out of some sort of trance that didn't go unnoticed by Nick, almost like they were under some… sort… of spell, realization cam over Nick as he remembered one of his parents abilities, they could put any mammal under some sort of spell but they had to make contact with them first, like Judy's power except she could do it without touching.

A smirk grew on Nick's face as his parents made eye contact with him giving him a hush hush face while the two bunnies left the room bewildered as to what happened over the last couple of minutes, all they knew was that they were now heading home. Judy didn't know what happened either way, "wow you two must be some really good persuaders."

Edward and Amelia both looked at each other with happy smiles, "Years of practice sweety" Amelia responded.

Yet another knock happened and in came the doctor who held some papers in his hand. "Ah, Nick glad to see you are awake. And Judy you seem to be getting back into working order. Let me give you both a brief check up and I think you will both be able to check out and enjoy your Tuesday evening."

The check ups went by quickly and next thing they knew the whole group was at the front door of the hospital looking into the middle of the Zootopia central watering hole, with the ZPD head quarters on one side, city hall on the other, and the final side had the natural history museum. The whole place was a normal sight for Nick, he used to walk up and down these streets looking for something to do. For Judy this was a whole new experience, sure she lived in an apartment a few blocks away but had never been bothered to explore past her house and the laundromat across the street, and school. She only left the area last night when she snuck to Nicks house.

The sheer number of mammals were incredible and all different species living in harmony it seemed surreal to her after the experiences she had a sky high. She could get used to living in such a city, it definitely wasn't BunnyBurrow, but she could adjust.

Really sorry about this one, kind of short chapter that is very boring and took me two weeks to write. I'm really trying to keep this interesting. And now that school is back the story and plot will be moving forward much faster. Thanks again for reading!


	8. Chapter 7: Fear Inducing Fox

Returning home was interesting, or at least what was left of it. By now all the bodies were cleared out but the damage and stains of blood were still there. For this reason they dropped Judy off at her apartment before coming home. The entire front of the house was blown open as well as a large hole in the roof where the masked mammal flew out. There were bullet holes all over the place and windows were blown open all over the place. Nicks room was mostly unscathed aside from the door having scorch marks on it. The family already knew they couldn't sleep in the house till damages were repaired, luckily there was another level to the house that only they knew about. "The Cave" as Nicks parents called it was only accessed through the fireplace, there was a little mantle piece on the shelf above it that when one of the Wilde's finger prints was scanned on it the fire place would open to a stairway leading down to it. So that's where they were staying, in small bed rooms designed specifically for a situation like this, (super heroes were prepared for anything).

They got home, moved the valuables down stairs and then Nick went to sleep to prepare to return to school the next day.

Meanwhile plans were being formed…

"What do you mean they are all dead?" A deep voice boomed from an overly large seat. A tiny squirrel stood at the base of the steps leading up the the throne the figure was sat upon.

The squirrel was shaking and his nervousness was evident in his voice, "S… something happened th-that one of the men turned and killed everyone."

There was a moment of silence, the voice then responded with venom rising in it, "who was it?" The words were practically spat out.

"Tim, Tim Houndson." The squirrel whispered trying as hard as he could to avoid the masked figures wrath.

He didn't escape it through, because as soon as he finished stating the name he felt a weight around his throat that tightened so much that it was choking him, he was then lifted off the ground by the force choking him.

"I always knew that one of them would betray me, I planned for what to do in this case. But before I do that. Would you ever betray me Scrat" The figure got up and stalked toward the squirrel now floating at the same height as the masked mammals head.

"No" He choked out, "I would never betray the mammal that will soon lead us into the new world"

The mammal looked at the squirrel, or at least Scrat thought it was looking at him, it seemed to accept the answer as he was dropped to the ground and the force choking him gave out. He sucked in as much breath as could trying to make up for the lack of air he had just had.

"Now go identify where this 'Tim's' family lived and if he had a family or not. If he did we are going to pay them a visit."

The tiny squirrel got up, saluted quickly, and ran out of the room to avoid anymore of his masters qrath.

The alarm that Nick had set was one he was still not yet ready for even though he had woken up for school plenty of times. He just wasn't quite ready to face the day and all the mammals who mocked him at this new school. Plus the fact that he missed the second day meaning he would have to make up for the work he had not completed.

But the alarm rang anyways, not caring how Nick felt. "BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP" The alarm blasted. He was already awake, he barely slept last night just thinking about Sky High, The masked mammal now looking for him, and the rabbit that just couldn't escape his mind even though he only knew her for three days. There was something about her that made Nick's heart beat a little faster. He still didn't like the idea of getting to close to anyone because he still didn't know who to trust. But the fact that she had saved his and his families lives certainly helped.

Instead of dwelling on it anymore, Nick reached out and smacked the alarm clock, silencing it for the next 24 hours. He swung his legs out over the edge of his bed and stood up, wiping his eyes and opening his mouth in a big yawn. Using his new ability he could tell that his parents weren't in the room next to him anymore, he had heard them leave in his sleep, probably off doing more super hero things.

The cave was made up into several different chambers, three living chambers, a main area, and a few others that housed different tools and vehicles his parents used to save others. There was also the basic things people needed to live, like a kitchen where Nick went to make his breakfast. He didn't feel like making anything special so he grabbed a bowl, some cereal and some milk and sat at the counter to eat while turning on the tv located on just the other side of the kitchen.

What came up on the TV was not something he wanted to see to start his day.

The main title read "Family Killed in Late Night Fire". Nick turned up the volume to hear what the reporter was saying.

"A fire broke out in a residential home in Central Meadowlands, it is not yet known how the fire started but it has left three mammals dead. We now go to reporter Alexander Tuskany on site, Alex"

The screen then flipped to an elephant standing in front of the remnants of a home that was still smoking.

"Yes I am out here in front of the very home, firefighters and police are on scene trying to search the area for a cause of the fire as well as any more bodies in the rubble. The mammals dead are confirmed as Jan Houndson the mother of Nate and Devin Houndson who were also in the rubble. The fire is estimated to have started at about 12 or 2 at night and was not discovered until an anonymous report came in telling the police of the fire. It…" He ended as information came to him from his ear piece.

"I am now getting word that both The Wild One and Scarlett Fang are currently arriving on scene." The camera then zoomed over to two figures coming down from the sky. To anyone watching they looked like just a masked mammal with no species to identify them as. Nick was to in shock to even pay attention to his parents being featured yay again on the news. 'Houndson' the wolf that Judy took over was named Time Houndson, there's no way that…' his mind drifted off to a very disturbing place thinking that someone would do this because of the actions of their father. He also just really hoped that Judy wasn't watching the news.

But she was, sitting on her couch with a carrot flavored pop tart in her hand, she stared at the screen unmoving thinking crazy things but hoping that it was all some strange coincidence. There was no time for sitting around she did not want to miss the bus, but the rest of her actions were done without her even thinking, her brain was to busy thinking of what had happened to an innocent family.

Soon enough she found herself sitting on the steps of the school, head in her hands. She wasn't crying but she sure felt like she was about to.

"Judy…" a voice came from behind her. She looked up to see Dawn Bellewether, "it is Judy right?"

Judy only nodded in response.

"I couldn't help but notice you seem pretty glum, I heard about what happened at Nick Wilde's house, is it because of that?" Dawn asked hesitantly.

Judy looked up with surprise, "how do you know what happened?" She questioned

"Oh sweety news spreads quickly around here"

That didn't make Judy feel any better, "How much do you know?"

"Well I know that there was an attack at his house and you were there, and you are alive because some soldier turned on the rest"

Judy internally sighed in relief, no one knew she actually did it. "Oh, yeah it was just a really crazy thing that happened, was certainly not expecting it" she tried to play it off, there was nothing wrong with the ewe, she just really didn't want to talk about it she wanted it to just go away.

"Hm I guess I can't really understand nothing like that has ever happened… to… me…" Dawn's voice trailed, leaving Judy confused as she looked up to see her eyes wide and she was starting to shake.

"Dawn whats the matter?" Judy asked with concern.

"You don't feel that?" She asked turning towards Judy

"Feel what?"

Judy felt a sense of safety, like the feeling she used to get when her parents were there watching her when she was younger.

She turned to look down the steps to see Nick coming up the steps, as he got closer the stronger the feeling got, it was strange but it was probably because she was so fond of the fox.

"Morning Carrots, and good morning to you Dawn" Nick said putting a smirk on his face the way only Nick Wilde could.

Judy returned the greeting with a smile and a nod, while Dawn was slowly backing away.

"Dawn what's the matter?" Nick asked making direct eye contact with her,

"Oh uh nothing just I uh need to head off to my class and study… uh bye" the ewe stated backing up further before darting up the stairs and into the school.

"Hmm I wonder what that was about?" Nick asked.

"Probably just has a big test today" responded Judy while shrugging.

Nick wasn't buying it and began to look around noticing that everyone was giving him specifically a look. It wasn't a look of hatred or pity he was used to, it was fear… they all looked like they wanted to run away from him, like he was some dangerous predator who might attack at any moment. He looked back down at Judy to see her staring up at him, wonder in her eyes. 'At least she seems normal right now' Nick thought.

Judy noticed Nick staring at her, and looked away a slight blush forming on her cheek and ears which did not go unnoticed by Nick, but he decided not to say anything.

"Alright shall we go inside?" Nick asked, looking up to see the stairs now empty of the rush of students.

Judy nodded in response as she turned to head up the stairs. When they arrived in the main hall it was full of hundreds of mammals as it was on the first day of school but the faces of excitement were now gone replaced with faces of drowsy and bored complexion, as the students now remember that although this is a special school, it is still school.

They walked through the halls, continuously turning heads as they went. Nick wasn't sure whether it was because people were surprised to see the fox and bunny that hated each other walking so close together, the fact that they had survived a near death experience and were now at school on the next day, or if they were just looking with fear at Nick again for some reason. Many of which were the last one as the fear in some of their eyes was hard to miss.

Judy noticed these stares too, but thought they were just looking at her because they were surprised to see a bunny in the school. She tried to focus on just walking but the stares were starting to get to her. Once they got to her locker she turned to face inside so she could avoid everyone looking at her.

Nick was a professional at reading others and noticed how Judy was trying to seclude herself from the world around her by shoving her head into the locker.

"What's the problem Carrots?" Nick asked with concern.

She looked up at him surprised, 'can he read my mind too?'.

Nick put on his sly grin knowing exactly what she was thinking, "No I cannot read your mind, I've been reading people for years, noticing what they do and figuring out why they are feeling that way."

"Oh, well its just there are a lot of people staring at me again and its bothering me" Judy responded rubbing her ears behind her head.

So she was noticing, "Listen Carrots I don't think they are looking at you, there is something off happening here today and I don't know what. But hey I will give your first piece of advice to get mammals to stop insulting you." Nick responded leaning up against the lockers trying to portray a cool guy attitude.

"Ok I'm listening"

"Good, its really simple. Are you paying attention? Good. What were we talking about?" Nick asked

"Niiiickk" Judy responded in mock annoyance which caused Nick to smile a bit, he could easily get to this rabbit, that would have to change.

"Ok , ok. Never let them see that they get to you" Nick stated

"Never let them see that they get to you" Judy echoed.

"Right, if you never let them know that they get to you, they will ignore you because they want someone who will react to their insults. So all these people staring, just ignore them and don't react to it or they will keep doing it. But if you ignore it they will leave you alone. Got it?"

"Got it" Judy responded thinking the whole thing over in her mind. Nick wanted to test how well she could follow his advice and had a plan in his mind on how to test her.

He quickly went from leaning against the locker to leaning on one of his knee's grabbing Judy by the arms and pulling her close while showing off his teeth and letting out his best growl. Nick was ready for any reaction and wanted to see which one she would do. She flinched and let out a slight gasp as Nick got really close to her face. Her heart started racing and her nose started twitching erratically. She tried to back up but her back was now against the lockers and his grip was too strong. "Nick what are you doing?" She asked in a fearful tone. Nick was ready for her to be afraid but the fact that she was afraid of him hurt something inside of him, luckily his mask kept his feelings inside.

"First test Fluff, I know this isn't really a real world test but if I was some bully I would want to see that reaction you just gave, you can't let them see that they get to you" Nick suddenly became aware of someone moving up behind him, he sensed it, he could tell what kind of mammal it was and where they were coming from, it was a male bear much taller than him was coming up really quick.

"Hey buddy you better leave that rabbit alone right now, she ain't done nothing wrong" the bear had a deep rough voice.

Nick released Judy and turned looking up to make direct eye contact with the bear. As soon as their eyes connected the bears face turned from one of confidence to fear, the bear still didn't back off though. The bear couldn't describe it but he felt like he was facing down a mad mammal with a chainsaw running at him.

Nick put his hands up in mock surrender, "I'm sorry amigo, I didn't mean anything wrong, this rabbit here is my friend I was just giving her quite the aggressive hug" he said putting on his perfected mask.

The bear stood in silence for a few seconds simply blinking in response till he finally came to his senses.

"Oh I apologize I didn't mean to interrupt, I'll just move on then" he said walking away quickly.

As soon as the bear was out of sight Nick turned to face Judy once again putting on his smirk looking down at a still shocked rabbit, "See Carrots, never let them see" he then ruffled her ears and walked on towards his locker, leaving a blushing surprised bunny behind him, what Nick didn't know was that the fear he had gotten earlier was definitely something else that he hadn't seen before and that Judy was embarrassed to have let out. She shut her locker and began to walk in the direction that Nick left in.

The new freshmen still hadn't finished the hero / sidekick selection so the entire first class returned to the gymnasium. Luckily today was the last day and there were only a few students left, one of which being Nick who hadn't technically gone up although he was called up on that first day he didn't "demonstrate" anything. Nick didn't mind, he was ready this time to face the jeers and boo's even the things they would throw. He would show Judy that he was a professional at his own advice.

First up for the day was a large stallion who stepped up onto the podium with confidence.

"Alright then, Nathaniel HoovenHisner, please demonstrate your powers." Ursula yelled with her usual drill Sargent tone.

Nick couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous the horses last name was. The horse hopped down from the stage only to take off down the front of the bleachers, leaving a trail of light in his path. He zoomed around the room so fast that the mammals in the bleachers struggled to keep up as a trail of burning hoof prints was being engraved into the wood floor. He made his way back up to the podium and stopped gracefully in a pose that could only be described as "Show off" which were the exact words that came out of Nicks mouth at the end of the demonstration.

"Well ok then, I knew horses were fast but I didn't know they were that fast." Ursula said laughing a bit at her attempt at a joke. No one else laughed at it though, most just rolled their eyes.

"Hmm lets see. Oh boy time for my favorite, Nick Wilde please step down here lets get this over with" her voice changed to one of disappointment at the sight of Nicks name.

"Gee you don't sound excited to see me, ma'am" Nick said as he stood up from his seat, leaving Judy with a nervous look on her face. She didn't know what Nick was gonna do but was worried for the back lash he could receive for it considering what happened last time.

"Well I must say I'm surprised you are still enrolled and here considering what happened two days ago. However I will say my sympathy goes out to you and your family I heard what happened"

"Aw you really do care" Nick responded with a smirk knowing very well that the teacher didn't actually show any sympathy, as he stepped up to the stage. What Nick didn't notice was the shiver that ran down Ursulas spine as he walked past. Once he reached the top of the stage he turned and faced his audience, as he scanned the entire gymnasium he dug deep into his new power and let loose. By doing this he could see each of the emotions his peers were letting off. As soon as he switched it on the air seemed to shift in the gym for all the students and Ursula leaving the whole gym silent. The only mammal who didn't feel it was Judy who simply felt her worry melt away as she watched Nick own the stage he now stood on. As he scanned his audience the singular mammals he was looked at flinched as a feeling of dread took over them and all they wanted to do was hide in their own skin. 'Hmm very interesting' Nick thought. He realized right then that it was his powers that was causing all these mammals to fear him.

He was interrupted from his scanning by the sound of Ursula clearing her throat. Nick switched his gaze to lock eyes with the polar bear hoping to see some sort of reaction from the big bad drill Sargent. He was not disappointed either as he saw her flinch and shiver slightly under his gaze.

"So do you… still not have powers" She asked, fear thick in her voice.

Nick couldn't help but chuckle at how easily he could manipulate her.

"Right still no powers, just the same old me just as I was two days ago." Nick responded.

Nick really wanted to stretch the extent of his power so he let loose fully so he could see every living creature inside the whole school, he could see all the class rooms and all the students in them, he could see the internal organs and feel the heart bears of everyone in the room, he could see all the students in the whole school flinch at his power radiated out of him like a geyser.

Every mammal could feel this, their mind was telling them to run away no matter what, and one gazelle did just that, they started to hyperventilate and ran out of the gym.

"Oh… oh… ok you can step down now then I guess." Ursula had turned into a blubbering mess.

"Ok" Nick said stepping down from the stage reigning in on his powers till they were once again all contained inside him again.

Nick returned to his seat seeing Judy with a small smile on her face.

"So how do you think it went?" She asked.

Nick looked back around seeing most of the students still staring at him, and others murmuring to the mammal next to them still side eyeing him.

"Oh I think it went great" Nick responded with a sly grin on his face looking down at the bunny.

"Alright, Next!" Screamed Ursula snapping everyone out of their days and putting them right back in the moment.

'Yes it went perfectly' Nick thought to himself.


	9. Chapter 8: A Suprise and a Reveal

The list came out almost immediately after the last student went up on the stage, the mob gathered around it kept the short mammals from seeing the results, such as Nick and Judy. There were some mammals who cried after seeing their results and there were some that were excited and didn't mind showing it. The small fennec fox Nick sat next to on the first day had no reaction, just walked past them with the same glare he had on that same day. Wolford was never one for a good poker face and was running down the hall pumping his fist and cheering, Nick still didn't know if he could trust him considering what he heard from his father. But soon the time came for the two to see their results. Nick was prepared for anything, him having a category of his own other than the two, him not being up there, or worse Judy not getting what she wanted. 'Wait do I really think that' Nick thought wondering why he suddenly cared so much about what Judy got.

Nick searched what he thought was the obvious placement for himself, the sidekick section. He searched the entirety of the section but he couldn't find his name. He looked down at Judy who had the same confused look on her face. Now Nick was beginning to get scared there was no way Ursula would give him a hero position after all that had happened. His ears folded back against his head as he searched on the page prior which had hero at the top. He searched through the W's. Halfway down one of the columns there it was, Nick Wilde.

Judy was shocked, she wasn't sad or mad, if anything she was happy for Nick but also confused on how he did it. She looked up at his face to see his own advice was failing him. He worse of a face of complete confusion as if someone had just hustled him. Others were starting to stare at the fox in confusion, and Judy knew he would not be ok with it, but Nick seemed a bit bust trying to comprehend what had happened. She put her paw on his arm which snapped him out of his trance, he looked down and violet met fearful emerald. Judy couldn't understand why he was afraid but she knew she need to comfort him, "Nick people are staring" She stated quietly and calmly.

Nick's mind was flooding with so many thoughts and questions he didn't even notice that Judy had taken his arm and taken him to a more secluded hallway. Nick leaned against a wall and slid down onto his butt, holding his head in his hands. Judy stood next to him not sure what to do, after several minutes she raised a paw up and put it on his head gently petting it trying to relax her friend. That snapped Nick out of his state, the feeling of someone else's paw on his head reminded him of something else and he flinched away from her paw. Judy noticed this as well as Nicks pupils dilating even more than they already were, her ears went behind her head. 'He must not trust me that much yet' she thought. Nick was now staring at Judy who was looking at the floor.

If Nick was being honest, his reaction was automatic in his mind he actually enjoyed the feeling of her touching his head. It calmed his nerves it made him come back to reality and allowed him to control the fire that was burning in his body that was his powers. Looking at Judy he felt bad for his reaction and seeing her be sorry for trying to hep him.

"Hey, I'm sorry there is just a lot going through my head right now" Nick said in a croaky voice like he was about to cry.

"It's ok I'm sorry for that I didn't know you didn't like touching" Judy said looking back up into Nicks eyes.

Nick didn't know what he was doing but he reached out and grabbed Judy's paw surprising both of them yet again, its like his mind was acting on its own accord.

"No I'm alright with only certain mammals touching me, it just took me that moment to realize that you are on of the mammals that can do that" Nick said with confidence in his eyes.

Relief washed through Judy as she now knew that not only did he trust her but he enjoyed the simple touch.

"So why did you react like that to being put as a hero? I thought you would be happy"

Nick thought how to tell her what he was thinking, it wasn't that he wasn't happy he was just super surprised. "I told Ursula that I didn't have powers, if she thinks that just by that display I had on the stage then that means that the feeling I give off and my power is much stronger than I expected. I don't want people to know I have powers and this won't help it. I want to use be normal. And worst of all other mammals are gonna think that I cheated or something and that I'm nothing more than just a sly fox." Nick said.

The whole day was becoming more and more confusing, she didn't know what he was talking about ' the feeling he was giving off'. She would ask him about it later, or maybe someone else. But for now she settled on just trying to make him feel better.

"It's alright Slick, if it makes you feel better I know that you didn't cheat the system and I still think you are much more than some sly fox. You're my friend, and we gotta watch each others back remember."

Nick smiled at that. "Thanks Judy, we are friends and I'm thankful for everything you've done… except for that stuff on day one which I wont forget and will be forever ruining my image of you in my mind" Nick said replacing the genuine smile with a sly smirk.

Judy sighed on the inside happy to see that the good old Nick was back, although she still wasn't happy with how little she knew about him.

Nick got back up on his feet and the pair carried on to the next class.

Now that the freshmen all had their placements into what they would be studying the schedules they had were now changing. Nick no longer studied weapons in the morning, he went to "Basics in Hero Etiquette" which to him sounded like a resounding nightmare of boredom that he would end up falling asleep in. Upon entering the class Nick summarized that he was right, the room was as bland and boring as possible with no decorations or anything special about it. The teacher himself was an elephant that looked like he could barely stand up on his own, or read, or even hear. Nick did his usual and sat in the back of the class to avoid being noticed. This was one of the first classes in which he didn't actually know anyone in, Judy wasn't here, Wolford wasn't here, not even any of the mammals he once knew were here.

The teacher stood up from his desk several bones popping as he did so, "Good morning everyone congratulations on your placements and welcome to Basics to Hero Etiquette, in here you will learn the do's and don'ts of being a hero. My name is Mr. Trunkaby and I have been teaching this class for up to 23 years now and not a student has failed. That means 2,423 students have come through here and not one of them has failed. I certainly don't want to ruin my perfect record so you all will work hard right?" He asked looking at each student, they all mumbled a quiet agreement that seemed to please the old elephant. The class went on without a hitch while most students sat in the back of class and slept. When the bell rang Nick was one of the several students who was snapped awake by the sound of the blaring bell.

The walk to Nicks locker was silent for him, once again walking alone. He opened it grabbed his stuff and closed it only to see his favorite lynx standing right behind it. But he wasn't alone this time, there was a group of mammals behind him.

"Well it seems foxy here is alone this time, no big bad wolf to protect him" the lynx walked menacingly closer to the fox who began to back down the hallway.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble" Nick said

The group continued to push up to the fox while other students simply looked on.

"Well you got trouble considering you cheated on that placement, how does someone with no powers get hero while the rest of us with real powers are stuck as sidekicks. We know you cheated we just want your confession to get you expelled. So go ahead and say it or we will force it out of you." The group was now surrounding the fox, so he had no where to go.

Nick thought of ways to get out of this situation, talking at this point didn't seem to be one of them. So he did what he thought was best, he lessened up on his control and let his powers go for a ride, the feeling was good like was still in the drivers seat. The animals around him felt it but were so angered that they chose to ignore it.

When the group didn't back off that's when Nick knew he couldn't avoid a fight. The first swing came from a monkey that was behind him, Nick sensed it coming and ducked underneath it throwing the monkey off balance and the swing going straight into the lynx's face. Nick could feel everyone of them breathing and plotting their next move. He felt the movement of a panda who was aiming a kick straight at the fox's gut, Nick spun out of the way just in time to watch the panda struggle to catch his balance and he ran his head into the lockers.

"Oooh that one is really gonna hurt later I recommended ice." Nick said with a smirk on his face.

What Nick was not expecting was for a fist to hit him directly in the eye. He stumbled backwards using his other eye to try and find the attacker, but didn't see anyone. He then felt paws around his throat as he was slammed against the locker and raised up. The attacker then appeared out of thin air in front of him. It was a tiger whom Nick had never seen before. She tightened her hold on his neck till he struggled for air. 'Are they really gonna kill me in school' Nick thought with fear for once. The other members of the group were closing in behind the tiger, Nick had to act fast as the light began to fade and stars were forming in his eyes. Nick swung his legs out under him forward and then back into the locker trying to kick the tiger but she was to far and to big for it to make any difference. He dug down inside of him to try and get any more power out of him as he stared directly into the eyes of his attacker. The world began to turn black as he lost consciousness. He could still see what was happening around him and it was at this point that he knew what to do. Nick didn't even feel his body hit the floor as his spirit rose up out and he took off running down the hall looking for his rabbit. He spotted her at her locker and reached towards her pulling out her spirit as well. Her body collapsed to the floor, to a random passerby would look like she just passed out for no reason.

She looked frantic when she realized what was going on. "Nick what are you doing you can't just do that you scared the carrots out of me." It was at this point that she noticed the frantic look in his face.

"Look I know it wasn't smart to do this but I'm being attacked right now, I don't want them to know about my powers but I need to do something, like call for help or something. They knocked me out so I'm stuck here for a bit but I will be right here with you. Ok, got? Go." Nick finished pushing Judy back into her body, her eyes instantly popping open as she sat up looking even more flabbergasted at the abruptness of what he just told her.

He was being attacked was the key phrase so she got up and ran down the hallway looking for where it might be. Passing one of the connecting halls she saw a group of students gathered around something, Judy had a strong feeling she knew what it was as she recognized the lynx from the first day of school.

She knew Nick's spirit was somewhere around her which made her feel more comfortable as she ran up to the group. "Hey punks step away from my friend" She screamed with as much confidence as she could muster being faced down by mammals twice her size at at least.

The mammals turned to her and laughed. The panda turned to her and bent down to talk to the bunny.

"Oh yeah and what's a little bunny like you going to do hmm?" The panda mocked. Judy froze up as the group surrounded her. She mind flashed back to the night in Nicks house with the wolf. She couldn't do that again. Judy had no idea what she was gonna do and Nick saw this watching her from behind the group. He looked over to his body and then back to Judy, he didn't want to get back into his body because he knew that his physical form was in no shape to fight. 'There has to be some way I can make contact with the visible world he thought.

Focusing all his energy into his hands Nick reached out and grabbed at the monkeys tail, he was expecting to get nothing but instead he felt the feeling of the fur on his tail. If He could keep focusing the energy into his hands he could stay in contact with the physical world it was just extremely draining he confirmed by the sudden feeling of exhaustion he got. Ignoring the now tired feeling he grabbed a hold of the monkeys tail and swung him in circles hitting every surrounding mammal and knocking them back. He then released the monkey's tail and he flew straight into the water fountain.

There were only two mammals left standing after this the same panda and the same lynx. Nick approached them, while all they saw was a scared looking bunny in the hall. The fox was already tired but knew if he didn't do anything they would start to charge at the bunny, so Nick leaped up and threw his fist into the pandas nose who stumbled backwards trying to blink away the pain and stop the blood that was now coming forth. The panda must have had a fear or the red stuff because as soon as he saw it on his paws he fell onto his back passed out. The lynx looked at his friend in confusion who was now unconscious on the ground, it was then that he realized he was the only one left standing from his group. He was not ready for paws to grab him by the throat and yank him down. Nick stood holding the lynx catching his breath he focused his energy on getting a message through to the lynx's head.

"Leave me and this rabbit here alone or you will end up like the rest of your friends here do you understand that now" The tone of the voice was so dark and cold that the lynx could feel it creeping down his spine, he only nodded in response as he recognized the voice as the fox that was originally his target. The hands then released him and he scrambled up to his feet taking off down the hallway taking a second glance at the body of the fox who was crumpled against the locker, he had blood dripping down his nose as well as a few other places. He looked like a wreck in short terms making the lynx even more confused on who this invisible attacker was and how he heard the foxes voice.

Nick watched with gratification as he watched the lynx run off. He was suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion so strong it knocked him to his knees, he began to crawl over to his body and fell inside it just before he felt himself slip into darkness.

His eyes opened and tired and pained emeralds met worried violets. Judy was standing over Nick looking at his crumpled form once again not knowing what to do.

"Just take me to the nurse" was all that Nick could croak out before the darkness did take him.

Judy was becoming less and less a fan of Nicks short statements that left her hanging. But she once again knew what to do as she grabbed the back of his shirt and began dragging him to the nurses office.

To other students it must of looked strange do see a bunny dragging a fox who looked brutally beaten and the carnage that was left behind her of the students on the ground.

Unknown to them another mammal was watching the whole situation take place, she wasn't really interested in the justice that should have taken place she was more interested in the fox being dragged by the bunny. There was something off about the pair that Dawn couldn't quite put her finger on, but she had a feeling it would only grow as the both of them continued to break their stereotypes. She ignored the feeling and walked off to her next class.

Nick woke up simply, there wasn't much pain and the blood was all cleaned up, along with yet another set of new clothes. The same nurse was there looking at her computer, other then that he was alone. Not even Judy was there which worried Nick, if she wasn't that means she could be in danger. Nick looked back over to the nurse who still hadn't noticed the fact that he was awake yet.

"Where is she?" He asked his voice a bit groggy, making him sound like someone from an action movie.

The kangaroo turned around confused as to who the fox was talking about, then she remembered the rabbit that had dragged the fox earlier. She had been surprised to see such a small mammal dragging the fox behind her. It wasn't hard to heal him either most of the wounds weren't actual bodily harm.

"Well she is most likely home considering it is now four o'clock." She said getting up from her chair to stand next to the fox who was now sitting up.

"Really I've been out for that long?" Nick asked not seeming surprised at all as he remember just how tired he had felt before he passed out.

"Yeah and I've been here for 2 hours after I was supposed to leave because someone needs their beauty rest" The kangaroo sassed.

"I'm sorry" Nick responded not joining in on the humor. He did feel bad, he was also pissed at the fact that on the first day back he had missed most of his classes.

"Listen kid, you're fine you have no major injuries and the ones that you do have already mostly healed up. So what's the matter." She asked.

Nick wasn't sure he wanted to tell her but since there was no one else to talk to he decided to just let it all out, plus Judy wasn't here so that helped a lot too.

"High school is stressful" is all he said, he never liked showing weakness but he felt vulnerable after all that had happened that day.

The nurse let out a chuckle, and sat down next to him on the bed.

"Yes it is, especially here this school is a literal mixing pot for strange individuals and majority of the time people don't get along but if you just ignore it they will soon lose interest." She said

Now it was Nicks turn to laugh, he had never heard such a cliché statement, but he chose to ignore it anyways. That's what he always did was ignore it but it would always come back to hurt him.

"It isn't about all this stuff its just the unexpected that is causing the stress. That attack that happened at my house, the fact that I got hero even though I don't have powers, and worst of all I… I think I'm falling in love."

That last one really threw off the nurse, she sometimes got into similar conversations but never about relationships. It didn't take her long however to know who the fox was falling for.

"Well the attack is something you couldn't have avoided, you should be happy you got placed as a hero, as far as the love thing I'm just a school nurse that can read your mind and I know a few things that you don't want me know such as the fact that you do have powers, and that girl is that same rabbit that dropped you off here."

Nick was very surprised and embarrassed at the fact that both of his secrets were out, he had never thought about those that could read his mind. 'Is that how Ursula knows?' He thought.

"No sweety Ursula can not read your mind."

"Please stop that" Nick asked still not enjoying his every thought being heard.

"Well if you really love that rabbit then just tell her" The kangaroo responded.

"It's not that simple" Nick stated blandly

"Oh and why not?" She asked leaning towards Nick.

Nick stuttered, "w… well because I don't know if she feels the same way, and we have this deal going on where we watch each others backs and I don't want to lose that. She is the first person to trust me and I feel like I'm indebted to her because of all that she's done for me and my family."

"Hmm well that's the whole part of asking anyone out that is scary. You just gotta grow some guts kid."

"Well that and interspecies relationships aren't exactly normal let alone a pred and prey one"

"And why is that?"

"Well because there so much difference between the two"

"So just get over it, if others insult you then they don't know true love themselves. And if it really is love you are feeling then you shouldn't care either."

Nick thought about it for a second knowing that the kangaroo was right. He merely sighed in response.

"Don't think to much about it I'm sure it will all make sense eventually"

"Thanks" Nick said sincerely.

"Anytime, but not to kick you out but I was supposed to be home 2 hours ago so if you can get out that would be great." She said losing her joking tone.

"Right" Nick said standing up, no longer feeling any pain. "Oh before I go I don't think I ever caught your name"

"Oh of course dear, I'm Michelle Jumps, but to you that's Mrs. Jumps."

Nick left the nurses office, and made his way to the front doors of the school. As he was walking he nearly ran into a wall of white fur that was Ursula.

"Hey you better watch where you are going Wilde" she said, not in her normal screaming voice but one that was full of sadness, even her eyes had dread in it.

"Mrs. Ursula whats the matter?" Nick asked.

"Oh its nothing, its just that a good friend of mine and a graduate of this school died and the rest of his family too in a house fire" she said holding back tears. Nick had never thought that Ursula had real emotions so this was a major shock to him. As well as the fact that Timothy Houndson went to Sky High.

"You're talking about Timothy Houndson aren't you?" He asked

"That's the one, was such a smart wolf its shame what happened, no one should have to go through this not even a family of evil villains."

Nicks mind was turning, new ideas were forming most of which he didn't like.

"I was just heading to the funeral today" She added

Nick needed to change the subject before the polar bear did burst into tears.

"Mrs. Ursula I hate to change the subject but why did you give me a hero spot" he asked

"Oh, well if I'm being completely honest I don't know exactly why, I see this spark in you and its amazing. You will get powers and when you do you need to be put in the right classes." She said with finality.

"Wow okay that was much more than I was expecting" Nick answered once again surprised.

"I think you gotta what it takes Wilde, now I need to get going and so do you. It's almost five and you aren't even home yet."

"Right, gotta get started on my homework that I missed" Nick said sarcastically as he turned away waving a farewell to the polar bear.

It was once he was outside that Nick realized his predicament. He was on a school way up in the air.

"How am I going to get home?"

That's a wrap on that chapter, not gonna lie these chapters are becoming more boring I feel the more I write them. I think I know where this story is gonna go as well so don't worry it will be finished just will take awhile. The whole concept of Nick controlling the feeling he gives off and the control in general, I first read it in the wonderful story "Embrace It" by Starfang. That is probably my favorite story I have read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is ok with a bad ass super soldier Nick and WildeHopps relationship. Thanks for reading this chapter and I will get the next one out as soon as possible. See ya!

Dag098


	10. Chapter 9: Searching For Something

Nick did eventually manage to get home, but once he did he didn't stay long. He went into his room down in the cave and threw his bag to the ground. His injuries had mostly healed up but he still felt an ache in his ribs, he slowly took his casual clothes so he didn't aggravate his wounds. For what he was planning he needed to dress in dark clothing. He reached into his dresser and pulled out a form fitting (but not revealing) pair of sweat pants and a dark hoodie. Once he was dressed he pulled out his phone and pulled up the number to his bunny. 'Wait did I just call her my bunny' he thought to himself, 'I really need to calm down'. He shook off the thought and texted her.

" _Hey are you busy right now?"_ He asked

It didn't take long for her to respond, Nick was just heading outside when his phone vibrated. Pulling it out he smiled at the message.

" _No I'm not busy, unless you're planning on coming over here in which there is no way I will let you in because my place is a wreck"_ Nick couldn't imagine Judy being an unorganized mammal.

" _Well I mean I'm not planning on spending time there, just coming to pick you up then I was hoping you and me could head to the Houndson house to do a little investigating. I have this weird feeling I knew what happened'_

Nick pulled up the address and began walking, she didn't live far from where he lived, they both were in City center not far from the central watering hole. He had the address because of the whole agreement the two families came too, as well as the phone numbers. Nick's parents wanted to be sure they could contact Judy as quick as possible if necessary. She didn't respond quickly this time, Nick continued to text her so that they could get moving quicker.

" _We are going to have to dress black so no one can see us"_ The rest of the walk was in silence as Nick awaited at least some acknowledgement of his message.

Once Nick arrived he knocked on the door, then waited patiently for her to open it. Nick held in a chuckle as he heard her feet shuffle over to the door. Opening the door Nick was expecting to see a bright and shining bunny, instead he saw one that was worried and weak.

"What's the matter Carrots" he asked with genuine concern. She was the one who normally picked him up not the other way around.

She looked up and violet met emerald, Judy didn't want to go to the house. She knew what happened she didn't have to go there to figure it out.

"Why do we have to go?" Judy asked like a whiny baby.

"Well because I want to see if we can find who did this and bring them to justice"

"Don't you at all think that some teens are investigating in an arson?"

"Yes but I think we could take care of ourselves"

"Like you today" Judy said not meaning to say it out loud.

It hit Nick like a slap in the face from earlier today.

"Wait so you're saying that just because I get beat up by a group when I'm outnumbered 10 to 1 that I should be able to defend my self?" He yelled furiously

Judy regretted what she said, she didn't really mean it. "No I'm sorry I didn't mean it"

Nick wanted to continue screaming at her but she looked so sad and he could feel the fact that she didn't mean it.

"Listen I know this is gonna be rough but we are the only two that really have a clue at what is going on. And I have this feeling that this is all much bigger than we anticipated, and the only way we will know for sure is by going to that house." He said in a more soothing voice trying to get her on his side. "And I need my friend to do that with"

Judy mulled over his words, he was right but he was also crazy. She looked up face now filled with confidence, "Let's go!"

She went back inside through on a dark pair of leggings and a black long sleeve shirt, walking down the street they looked like the sketchiest pair and most interesting, one being smaller than the other. The walk once again wasn't long because the house was in Sahara Square right next door to the City Center. By the time they got there the sun was down and the only light was coming from the street lights casting an orange glow across the neighborhood.

The pair hid behind an electrical box searching the area. The house had walls and bits of ceiling left but other than that, it was an ashy wreck. There was police tape wrapped around the perimeter of the yard, and a police cruiser was in the front of the house parked.

"That's not normal, cops wouldn't be here unless they were trying to guard something" Judy whispered.

Nick nodded in response, then turned Judy to face him. He then began flapping his arms around ridiculously, Judy knew he was trying to say something but didn't know. Suddenly he turned around the box and crept to the side of the house leaving Judy to catch up.

While passing the side of the car, Judy noticed that the car itself was empty, which was even more strange. 'They're looking for something' she inferred.

Once Nick knew Judy was behind him he began moving, around to the back of the house the yard and pool in the back was basically untouched, the ash caught considerably greater as they approached the back door. Nick released his powers a bit and searched the rubble for anyone living, he searched both floors but found no one living. Once at the back door (or where the back door was) Nick turned once again and began using his hand motions.

Judy was starting to get fed up with the signals and decided to just do the easy thing and grab his arm and create a link.

'There much better' she thought

Nick put on a sly grin at this, 'what can someone not understand my hand signals?' Judy could here the smirk in his voice and decided to just punch him in the arm.

'Dumb fox' she thought with a smile on her face now,

'Sly bunny' he thought. It was then that Nick realized what they were doing and where, was he really flirting with her in a murder scene? He snapped out of it, ignoring the fact that she was flirting back. They pushed into the back of the house which lead straight into the kitchen. The oven was left open with a long black trail leading up to it.

'Well I think I found the source of the fire' Nick thought. As he stepped up closer to the oven he stepped in something wet and sticky. He looked down to see a dark red liquid he was all to familiar with, blood. The black trail was actually a mixture of the ash condensing and blood leading to the oven. It wasn't hard for Nick to come up with a conclusion but what he came up with horrified him. Judy saw this face and looked at him confused.

'What's the matter?' She asked innocence in her voice, she couldn't smell the blood at all only heard Nicks breathing begin to pick up.

'Well Fluff you certainly aren't going to like it, I think I found how one of them was killed' Nick asked his voice hollow of all sarcasm. Judy then looked at the oven and the trail coming out of it, then it clicked for her and she gasped in horror.

It was then that Nick realized what was said on the news in the morning, 'Wait Judy calm down' He said running over to her just as she was about to collapse to the ground. 'The news this morning said that all three of the bodies were recovered so they didn't kill them this way' This seemed to calm down Judy a bit as she was able to stand up on her own.

'Ok I hope they weren't lying' she said through some tears. Nick did not like seeing his bunny sad, 'cheese and crackers I did it again' Nick thought.

'Did what again?' Judy asked, now Nick was the one to over react.

"Uhhhhhh" He said out loud, he completely forgot that Judy could hear him.

'I think I left my sink running again back home' He thought quickly recovering his mask to hide his slip up.

Judy didn't really believe that but decided to drop it anyways. The pair headed out of the kitchen and into a large room with a couch and a tv, the room was destroyed a two of the walls were gone the couch was scorched and the tv looked like it had been smashed in. Some of the walls that were standing had pictures frames. It was Judy who noticed that the some of the frames were smashed. 'There looked to be a struggle' she said pointing to the tv and frames. Nick looked and nodded in response, they continued to walk until the passed the front door which was directly in front of the stairs. They moved up the stairs quickly to avoid being seen from the front.

Once up there they discovered two rooms left. 'Hey let's split up I'll take left you take right' Judy thought.

Nick didn't like the idea but nodded in response, he didn't like the fact of either them being alone even if he was sure there was no one else here.

Nick went into the room on the right which happened to be the kids room, there were two beds right next to each other, everything else in the room was burnt to a crisp. The place itself was in tact thought structurally speaking. He wasn't going to be falling through the floor at least. The ceiling wasn't even there, just four walls surrounded him, but what stood out was the perfectly clean looking closet that sat across from the beds. Something about it just made Nick feel on edge. He crept up to it quietly once again unleashing his power to see if anyone was in there, it was empty of life, 'so then what the heck is giving me this feeling'. He reached up and grabbed the handle yanking it open preparing himself for a trap. He was not prepared to see a reflection of himself which made him yelp in surprise. There was something written on the mirror, something that made Nicks blood run cold, it was a message.

" _So Nick it seems something has changed in you, doesn't matter simply makes you easier to find. I now know your secret so there is no use in hiding. How about we meet sometime and I can show you something you might find sublime."_

The text was written in black but the signature was in blood and read "MM"…

The room Judy was in was probably the most destroyed room in the house, it had the two walls blown out in the corner as well as most of the floor missing, whatever was in there must have been destroyed because the room was almost completely empty save for a dresser that was half burnt open. The bathroom was directly to the right when walking in and was in much better condition then the main bed room. It had a window that looked right out over the pool along with the normal things one would find in a bathroom. She was walking around in there searching for clues when she heard heavy foot falls come up behind her. Instinctually she turned around and threw a fist at the attacker only for them to dodge it and grab her by the arms. She calmed down when she looked into panicked emerald eyes, "Nick whats the matter?" She asked out loud. His hold on her was tight and his breathing was sporadic, his heart was beating so loud that she could hear it.

"Th… tha… that thing knows who I am and that I have powers" Nick said panicked.

"What thing?" She asked beginning to become scared herself, he was the one who wanted to come here now he seems to be ready to leave and never come back.

"The Masked Mammal" He said, "although they just wrote MM on the message. I have a picture of it so lets get out of here."

Nick, with Judy in his arms, ran to the door of the bathroom only to freeze when he heard loud footsteps coming up the steps.

'Someone is coming' he thought to avoid being heard, 'we're trapped'.

Both Nick and Judy looked around for possible escape routes. Nick even released his powers to try and slow down the mammal seeing that they were a relatively large one.

The steps were coming up fast so Nick made a hasty decision and ran to the window. He shoved it open just as a light flashed on them,

"ZPD freeze!" the mammal yelled, looking at what lay before him confused. The hooded mammal turned their head so that he could only see green eyes and two bunny ears sticking up from the front of him, the eyes looked at the officer who was a large rhino, something about that look just made him shiver.

Just as quickly as he looked he jumped out the window and was out of sight, the feeling went away soon after. The rhino ran to the window and looked out to see nothing except a pool that was now unsettled and a trail of water that lead towards the front.

The rhino then gripped at his radio and spoke into it, "Dispatch tell any other officers out on patrol to keep their eyes open for any hooded figure with green eyes and bunny ears wearing all black, they are probably wet but who knows"

"Roger that McHorn did you get a species?" The dispatch responded.

"No I couldn't tell, it was orange as a fox but had the bunny ears so I'm not sure"

"Roger we will send that notice out ASAP".

McHorn had no idea how a simple lookout job could turn so eventful at 8 at night.

Nick froze, the voice was gruff and commanding, 'rhino' he thought. Nick didn't know what to do so he simply turned his head unleashing his full power and staring directly into the eyes of the rhino. The rhino shivered and flinched, this was the opening Nick needed as he turned back around and dove out the window and straight into the pool. As quickly as he was in, he was out followed by Judy who he released once they landed in the water. There was no time to catch their breath as they both took off and away form the house, they continued to run till the house was out of sight, plus eight more blocks.

The only reason they stopped was to catch their breath, they were now sitting in the middle of a park, Nick was wheezing for air while Judy was fine just looking keeping watch. The park was empty and dark due to it now being ten at night. The park was the just a few blocks from both of their houses so they thought it stay there till it was safe to keep moving. Once Nick caught his breath he fell on to his back taking in the fresh air and cooling fall night. He closed his eyes taking in the scents and sounds of the world around him, he could smell pizza coming from the the restaurant across the street. He could hear people chanting at the sports bar on the other side of the park.

Judy was no longer keeping watch and sat down next to Nick, watching him as his nose and ears twitched as he just focused on the world around. It was mesmerizing to her, she had never really looked at Nick this close before, she it was dark but she could make at the curve of his muzzle and the black tips of his ears, and how the fur on the bottom of his mouth was creamier and ran down his chest under his shirt. She was so entranced she didn't even notice Nick pop open an eye to look at her.

"You lose something over here Fluff?" He asked sarcastically

You instantly looked away her ears heating up from embarrassment, "No just enjoying the view" She said although regret was written all over her face in Nicks eyes. Nick was surprised himself, he certainly was ready for her to say anything but wasn't ready for that.

"I didn't uhm… oh jeez" She stuttered out.

Nick chuckled at her inability to speak, wasn't normal for the out spoken Judy Hopps struggle to speak.

"What's the problem Carrot's handsome fox got your tongue" Nick said mockingly. This flustered her even more, he was deliberately trying to annoy her and it was working.

Once Nick was done laughing he just continued to stare up into the sky at the inky blackness with skyscrapers towering over him. Inside his head he was doing back flips at what she said, the connection being broken by now he was able to think on his own. 'I think she likes me' he thought. His mind then flashed back to the nurses office earlier. He looked over at the rabbit who was now sitting back staring up at the sky herself, ears flat against her back. She was beautiful, to Nick it was crazy that just a few days ago he had never liked anyone, now he was falling for a bunny. He didn't want to ruin this friendship he had created either, she was the first mammal to really trust him and he didn't want that to end with him assuming too much. But he also wanted to have her be his, because there was no one he could picture himself with at that moment other than her. It was these conflicting thoughts that had Nick questioning his judgement.

Eventually one side made up its mind, Nick reached out an arm and grabbed the bunny by her arm pulling her in close to his side. Judy was not ready for it reacted with a surprised squeak. She was now pressed up against his hip a paw grasping her waist. She looked up at him with the same usual surprised face that eventually turned into a smile after she stared into his eyes. She leaned back and snuggled up even closer to him taking in his warm and scent. It was musky nothing out of the ordinary but yet there was something so indistinguishable about it, some tinge that she would never forget.

They laid there in peace for about an hour simply letting the world revolve around them, completely content with staying there the whole night.

That is until Nick received a text from his parents telling him that if he wasn't home in five minutes he would be grounded. That was enough motivation to get back home, Nick walked Judy all the way back up to her apartment where they both stopped. Judy turned to look at Nick right outside her door, both of them not knowing for sure what to do next. Nick reached out again and pulled Judy into a hug, one that she graciously accepted. It wasn't anything special to any other mammals but to the it was a showing that they had each other no matter how hard the situations got. After a good amount of time Nick released the hug and they both went their separate ways. Nick giving himself a pat on the back for finally doing something, even if it was just a bit of cuddling and hugging.

Unbeknownst to the pair as soon as they had left the building eyes had been on them. And their interaction in the park caused a very gleeful yet maniacal laughter to come from a certain masked mammal. The mammal didn't know how but they knew they could use this new and growing relationship in their favor to get exactly what it was that they wanted.

"Scrat!" The mammal yelled.

The tiny squirrel came running around the corner right next to his boss who was staring at camera monitors, watching the fox that they needed.

"I have a plan, in order to get _Those Up Above_ to come down we need power correct?" They asked

Scrat simply nodded in response.

"Excellent, well I think I found exactly how we will get that source of power from the fox. Now I need you to go to the engineers and tell them that I said if they aren't finished with the portable power remover that I will have their heads, do I make myself clear" The mammal screamed.

The threat wasn't directly at Scrat but he still shivered at the thought of it, "Crystal clear" he said before turning and running in the opposite direction.

The mammal then turned back to the screen staring straight at the bunny, beginning the maniacal laugh once again.

'This will all work perfectly'

Duh Duh Duh, who is this masked mammal? I have no idea I'm just the writer. As the writer I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this chapter and sticking with my story. If you see any completely our of the ordinary or have any questions please feel free to PM me or leave a review I really do appreciate it, and if your question is a good question I will leave it down here because I'm sure others would love to know the answer too, (no spoilers of course).

Thanks again and I will talk to all of you wonderful people in the next chapter!

-DAG


	11. Chapter 10: New Faces

Hey everybody, big surprise I'm not dead. I've had a hard time switching into this whole college mode but its getting better. College is hard don't let that fact escape your mind. Anyways I'm getting back into the whole Zootopia fandom again and I'm trying to get this story rolling again. I have the plot all planned out and chapters should start coming more frequently than one every 4 months or however long its been. I can't say they will be consistent but I will say they will be getting progressively better. I apologize if this chapter feels a bit weird and short. I wrote the first half in June and the last half in October and I just really wanted to get some content out there again to try and get this river flowing. If you like this story please let me know, I'll respond to any reviews, any questions, I gotchu. If you enjoy the story let me know. If you don't let me know still, I'm all about learning stuff from others. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and stick around till the end of The Amazing Nick Wilde!

The alarm blasted in his ear instantly waking him up out of his slumber, although the animals had evolved to be more civilized Nick still felt his nocturnal side fighting him to go back to sleep. But he knew that school would go on with or without him so he pushed his way out of the bed and walked out to the kitchen just as he had done the last morning, getting breakfast and sitting watching the tv. Luckily there were no horrific stories this morning so Nick only watched as the described how the weather in each district wasn't gonna change, so nothing new had happened. Although the districts were each monitored and stabilized they did change with the seasons, fall would soon go into winter and the cold would take over savannah central. Nick couldn't help but think back to how intense yet wonderful the last night had been, that is until he remembered the message he saw in the closet. 'How do they know I was there' he thought to himself as he put on his clothes, he wore his staple Pawaiian shirt and khaki pants.

Judy woke up much differently, her alarm didn't wake her up, instead she smacked the buzzer off as soon as the sound went off. She already ate, cleaned up, and was dressed ready to go for the day wearing a plaid shirt her mother gave her and some blue jeans. She sat in front of her tv watching the same news also drifting into thought about the last night, she thoroughly enjoyed it and wished she had showed Nick how much she liked him. She wanted to kiss him but felt way to awkward and just pulled him into a hug. She didn't know if he liked her or if he was into the thought of being an inter. It wasn't common but some mammals did it. A pred-prey relationship was practically unheard of, so Judy didn't want to really test that yet.

The ride to the school was uneventful for both of them, same old bus ride and same old steps up to the school. Judy was walking up the steps when she saw Nick standing at the top looking at his phone, his fur looking fresh and clean and his face showing nothing but contentment. Judy skipped up the rest of the steps up to him, and not knowing what to do she punched him in the arm playfully. "Morning champ!" She said a little overly excited. Nick looked up from his phone his contentment changing to confusion.

"Champ? That's the a new one" he said in response, putting his phone away.

"Yeah hehe" she laughed awkwardly wondering why she just did that. 'Hopefully he will just forget that happened if I change the topic' she thought. "What are you doing out here, I thought you would go to your locker or something"

Nick looked confused again, "what am I not allowed to wait for the rabbit I'm looking out for?" Nick said smoothly, but on the inside his heart was picking up in pace. He didn't know why he waited for her, he never did that for anyone, 'gosh I'm falling hard' he thought to himself.

They were about to step into the school when a voice called out, from behind them. They both stopped and turned around, and simultaneously their jaws dropped at what they saw. Coming up the steps of Sky High was a beautiful snow fox vixen wearing tight black leggings and a shirt that revealed much of her belly. She was curvy in all the right ways in Nicks mind and for the first time in since Nick started this school he felt shocked, shocked to see another fox in a super hero high school.

"Um hi, my name is Skye I'm a new stud-"

"Ha like Sky High, that's funny ha… ha… he…" Nick said trying to be funny, he looked and saw that Judy was giving him a face of confusion with maybe a hint of disgust for that disgrace of a joke.

"Ha," she laughed awkwardly, "yeah so I'm a new student and I have no idea what I'm doing could one of you help me?" She asked.

Nick didn't hesitate and reached out a paw to the vixen, "sorry about that my name is Nick Wilde, I would be happy to show you around the school, trust me I know that on the first day it can be a little daunting" he said

Skye reached out and shook his hand, "thank you so much, it actually is a huge relief to see another fox, all I've seen is prey and it kind of scares me." She said side eyeing Judy as the pair walked past her into the hall leaving Judy alone at the front of the school.

Judy continued to look on as the pair walked away, Nick talking to Skye telling her about all that he knew.

'What just happened?' She thought to herself. She shook herself from her daze and started walking after them. The halls were already packed with students so trying to find the two mid-sized mammals was rather difficult for someone of her size.

Meanwhile Nick lead Skye around the "most important" parts of the school, he showed her the gym, the cafeteria, and where nearly all of the bathrooms were. The last one was a little unnecessary in Skye's mind but she didn't say that much out loud. She found Nick trying so hard rather adorable and he didn't look half bad in general. Nick had continued to talk during this time, but Skye stopped listening and just looked around taking the vast amount of mammals in the hallway. She then noticed a familiar rabbit that Nick was with earlier on the front steps. The rabbit was walking their way and did not look very happy. Nick also noticed this and merely glanced over at her appearance giving her a simple "hey Carrot's" in greeting.

"You ditched me at the front of the school and the most you can give me is a hey?" Judy said tapping her foot.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry" Nick said remembering the fact that he was waiting for her specifically. 'Why did I do that?' He didn't mean to just leave her it was just Skye's appearance had been so sudden and unexpected. Skye was giving the pair a confused look that Nick noticed, "Oh, Skye, this is my friend Judy Hopps" he motioned towards the rabbit.

The two females shook hands as something flared in their mind, Judy for one could not put a finger on it but it felt almost like "competition", who was gonna be the first to break eye contact or who was gonna be the one to stop shaking the others paw.

"It is a pleasure" is all that Judy said with an uninterested tone.

Skye smirked 'she must be the one' she thought 'this will be easier than I thought'

"I'm sure it is" she responded with an equally sarcastic tone.

Unknown to the vixen, the rabbit she was currently shaking hands with was creating a link between them so that Judy could listen in to what Skye was thinking.

Nick meanwhile watched the interaction awkwardly, he couldn't tell any sort of conflict was going on, once they had kept the shake going for more than a minute did he decide to step in. "Ooookay, anyways Fluff would you like to come with us while I give Skye a tour?"

Judy thought for a moment, she didn't really want to be near this vixen but didn't want to lose this link she had just created with her either. "Sure I'll tag along" she said as the group began walking.

'Hmm this may be harder than I thought' Skye thought as she stuck right next to Nick trying to make her intentions clear, locking eyes with Judy once again.

"Interesting" Judy said under her breath as the vixen looked away. Something was happening and Judy knew it couldn't be anything good. But decided to just go along and keep listening. "Very interesting."


	12. Chapter 11: New Foes

The rest of the school day went on pretty smoothly, Nick was adjusting to many of his classes much better than he was expecting. And also surprisingly Skye was in most of his classes, 'oh man I'm lucky' he thought. There was something consistently nagging the back of his mind, like the fact that this all seemed too good to be true. But Nick didn't pay any mind to it, he thought it was just part of his new power. He was now sitting in the secret cave doing homework, work that he didn't really care for nor was he working very hard on. One mammal kept filling his mind and distracting him from actually getting work done.

Skye was perfect in Nick's mind, she was nice, hot, seemed to maybe like him (he couldn't really tell it had only been one day). She was everything he wanted, but then his mind went to another mammal that was all that and more. "Judy…" he said out loud to no one in general, he had really felt a connection with her the other night. And that's what scared Nick the most, they were not only two different species but he was a predator and she was prey, thousands of years ago Nick probably would have killed her for food. 'There's no way she is gonna be into an interspecies relationship, I should stop leading her on and just go ask Skye out'. He continued to think for a bit longer before checking the clock and realizing that he had just spent two hours daydreaming and it was now 10.

'Ah forget work I'll just do it before class tomorrow'. His body was still tired from the late night that he and Judy had had the day prior, so he decided to get in bed and go to sleep.

—

Judy sat in her bed looking up at the ceiling thinking about all that had happened in the day. What she had gotten from Skye was that she was out to get something from Nick, 'maybe she just wants to date him' she thought. Then she thought back to the night before, how great it felt to snuggle up with him in the park, how safe she felt around him. She worried for Nick, that masked mammal was after him and he didn't have the powers yet to fend for himself, not that she could do much better by herself. The thought of Nick dating Skye filled her with sadness, 'why do I care, I don't even know if I like him like that, I've only known him for like a week. Plus he's a fox and I'm a bunny there's no way it would work'. Those words in her head didn't register right, sure she had thought them but she didn't really know if she meant them. 'Do I like him?' She flashed back to the memories they had shared so far together. How she had originally taken over his body for the power demonstration, how she had felt bad afterwards for what she had done, the fact that he promised to look out for her after all that.

She began to tear up as she realized what she had been fearing, 'oh my goodness I like him'. She knew that there was no way she could beat Skye for him because she was the same species as him. 'So what if I can't date him, that doesn't mean we can't stay friends right' she was really digging deep to try and stay positive. She felt a little better but could still feel the tears going down her face. Eventually she drifted off to sleep.

—

There were explosions, flashing lights, and the air was full of dust making it hard to see. But Nick could still see all that was happening all to well, he didn't have control. He was moving around quickly destroying all he could see and hurting anyone in his path. He was watching all this happen through his own eyes and he could feel each action as if it was his own, but he wasn't the one doing them, it was as if he was the puppet to someone's show. No matter how much he tried he couldn't stop, not even the screams he was trying to let out could be heard except for in his head. He saw the faces of innocent mammals turn lifeless in his own paws. At the same time he was horrified by his actions, he was also afraid of how much power he felt. It was as if he was full of a sensation that was indescribable. Nothing could stop him, not even himself. He hated to say it but it felt… good.

Suddenly he stopped, he could hear someone screaming. He recognized the voice, his body started moving towards where the sound was coming from. The sound was coming from beneath a pile of rubble, his arms reached down and started throwing the chunks of rubble out until he reached the bottom. What Nick saw made his heart stop, it was Judy, she was looking at him with fear in her eyes. There was blood dripping down the side of her head and her right leg was bending the wrong direction. She backed away trying to escape, but Nick stepped up and grabbed her by her arms. Tears were rolling down her face, Nick felt tears burning at his eyes but they couldn't come because he wasn't the one doing any of this.

"Nick please don't do this…" She gasped in pain as his grip tightened around her arms, he could fell his claws digging into her flesh as she began to cry even more.

"Stop please, don't let them control you, I know you're in there Nick. I know you're strong enough to break their control…" she was quiet for a moment as she stared into his eyes, Nicks conscious mind stared back hoping that his physical body wouldn't do anything worse.

"Please" she begged, "I love you…"

Nick looked up and into her eyes, he could feel his emotions combating his physical body, he could now feel the tears streaming down his face. He knew what she said and wanted her to say it again but couldn't tell her to do so. He wanted to tell her that he loved her too, 'No I have to get out of this'. He focused hard on trying to break the prison he was in, trying to gain control over himself, fighting inch for inch he felt control and feeling enter his mind and limbs, his vision became less tunnel and more reality. He was almost there, "Judy…" he tried saying, he could hear his voice and he knew he said it when she responded, "Nick?" Hope filled her face.

"I love you t-". His voice was cut off as the grip on his control was lost and he fell entirely back down to nothing, he could see all that was happening through the tunnel vision still but it was much more difficult now.

'Do it, end her' a voice said in the back of his head. His physical body began to twist Judys arms behind her back as she screamed in pain.

'NOOOOOO' Nick could only screams as he watched hurt the small rabbit. His vision suddenly went white and he could feel himself being blasted by an incredibly strong wind.

Nick opened his eyes and realized that he had been in a nightmare. His bed was soaked as well as his fur in his sweat, his throat was soar and his head was spinning. His head was pounding so hard that he felt like he was going to throw up. In fact he could feel it coming as the dream replayed in his head. He quickly got out of bed nearly collapsing because of his shaky legs and made his way to the bathroom.

Once he had finished re-tasting his dinner, he made his way back to his room. Once he put on a fresh set of clothes and drank some water he felt a bit better, but the events from his nightmare still replayed in his head.

'It was all so real', he thought, 'as if it wasn't a dream'. His mind then drifted to Judy, the rabbit had somehow taken over his life and he was starting to see why she had made such an impact on him. What he had said in the nightmare was true.

"Oh my gosh, I'm in love with her…"

The rest of the night creeped by, Nick lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. The nightmare had been so bad he didn't want to go back to sleep and risk seeing it again. He couldn't bear seeing it again because of the fact that he now embraced what he said. The only way time passed for him was when he thought about her, 'I need to tell her…'. He thought about the different ways he could tell her and all the ways they could end, most of them ending poorly. That is how he spent the next 4 hours of the night, sitting and thinking until his alarm went off.

"Shit," was all he could say, his eyes blood shot with bags forming underneath. Despite the aching tiredness he felt Nick trudged out of bed and got ready, "today is gonna be a long day".

Judy sat on the front steps just as she did yesterday, the sun was shining brightly on front of the school. One perk of going to a school that hovered above the clouds was that you got a good sunrise every morning. One negative was that the sun was extremely bright and would rarely be blocked by the clouds. Despite the blinding light of the sun, Judy sat there waiting. She wanted to see Nick before a certain vixen arrived, she wanted to warn him of the fact that she thought Skye was not who she said she was. The busses came and went, the students came and passed her into the halls not giving her a second glance. Judy glanced at her phone checking the time, "7 o'clock, and class starts at 7:30, where is he?" She said. She began writing a text when a fox shaped shadow blocked the light, she sighed in relief.

"Cutting it close aren't you Ni…" she stopped talking as she looked at the feet of the mammal in front of her, they weren't orange but they were white. Dark violet eyes met with sapphire blue,

"Oh, is someone waiting for their fox. How adorable" she said sarcastically. Judy stood up to try and match the height of the vixen. She was standing a few steps higher than Skye but the vixen still stood taller.

"What are you playing at Skye? It can't just be coincidence that you come out of nowhere and are then immediately attached to Nick." Judy said trying to act intimidating but to no avail.

"What am I playing at?" She laughed, "more like what are you playing at, do you really think that there is any chance that a fox would want to date a bunny. If you actually believe that than you're even dumber than your country bumpkin brothers and sisters." The last bit was spat out with venom. Judy was taken aback by how intense Skye was, she tried not to flinch back against her though, she had to stand her ground.

"It isn't really up to you what Nick thinks, I'm sure if he even thought a little about the situation he would agree with me that you're coming in at perfect time which in no way could be coincidental. You don't even know what we've been through and you think you're just gonna come in here and take him while he is at his lowest. If you ask me I think you're a just someone using their looks to get someone they want." She said taking a step toward the vixen who didn't even flinch at her words.

It happened in an instant, Skye's hand moved faster than Judy could react. One moment she was docile the next her claws were digging into her right arm. Judy looked into her eyes what she saw made her gasp, instead of the normal round pupils there were slits, 'just like Nick' she thought.

"Now you listen to me bitch, if you ever think you will ever be more than just a child play toy to him then you got another thing coming. You think you're special because you have powers hmm? Well you're nothing to me, I eat shits like you for breakfast everyday so if you don't get out of my way I'm going to have to make you. And here if you don't believe me I'll leave you with a little gift to remember this talk." When she said this she began squeezing her sharp claws into Judy's flesh. Judy could feel the blood oozing down her arm as she was lifted off her feet, the claws digging in even more. She never really felt fear that often, the last time being when she was at Nick's house when the attack happened. But in that moment she was afraid and felt helpless against the vixens superior strength.

"Skye?" A familiar voice called from the bottom of the steps. The vixen turned allowing both of them to see who it was. Judy couldn't have been happier to see Nick, when he saw what Skye was doing his eyes turned into slits and an aura of safety washed over Judy. When Skye realized who it was she dropped the rabbit down on the step trying to look innocent, turning her eyes back to normal. But it was too late, Nick had seen enough to know what was happening. He ran up the steps, and pushed his way in between the two females putting Judy behind him to protect her.

"Nick h-how much did you hear of that?" Skye asked nervousness evident in her voice.

Nick stepped closer causing the vixen to step back as the aura of a dangerous mammal grew. Skye knew they shared the ability to intimidate but wasn't prepared for just how powerful his affect was on her.

"Enough to know that I never should have trusted you in the first place. Now do both of us a favor and Get. Out. Of. Here." The last words came out as barely anything more than a snarl. Skye didn't want the scene to turn any worse so she quickly ran up the steps and disappeared into the school.

Nick took a deep breath calming himself down, his exhaustion coming back in full strides. When he had seen what was happening flashes of his nightmare came back. There were no students at this point, it was just them on the front steps, no one would have stopped Skye he not shown up. He didn't really want to think about what would have happened if he wasn't there. The smell of copper in the air brought him back to reality as he turned around and flinched at what he saw.

Judy was sitting out the ground looking up at him with pain in her eyes. The blood was still dripping down her arm, "it's okay Judy I got ya" he said as he gathered the rabbit in his arms. The rabbit in his arms didn't respond, she simply leaned into him using her other paw to stop the bleeding.

Nicks anger flared as he could her start to cry, he had sworn to protect but he failed. He wasn't just angry at Skye he was angry at himself it was his fault now that she was hurt, 'she'll never trust me again'.

Nick carried her through the hall not even noticing the eyes on him as he held his rabbit towards the nurse. Only once they were and Nick knew it was safe for her did he put her down on top of the nurses bench. It was so early that the nurse hadn't even arrived yet. In hopes of finding something to help Nick began searching the drawers for stuff he could use to help her. 'Band aids, disinfectant, gauze I think that should work' he thought grabbing each of the items.

Turning back to Judy he unrolled the gauze and covered the wounds on her arm, she hissed in pain as the medical covering began staunching the cuts. Nick was the one who began tearing up now, after his long night and shock of a morning his emotions were beginning to catch up to him now.

"Judy I'm sorry." Was all he could say. She looked up at him confused,

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked.

"I couldn't keep our promise, I didn't protect you." He said through tears as he looked into her eyes.

Judy thought for a moment before responding, "Nick I'm not mad at you at all, If you didn't show up when you did who knows what would have happened, you did protect me. You kept things from getting worse, and now your trying your best to try and fix that."

The fox couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "yeah I guess you're right although I have no idea what I'm doing right now, I'm just doing what I see in the commercials for the hospital tv shows."

Now it was Judy's turn to laugh. The two locked eyes for what felt like an hour when in reality it was just a few seconds.

Judy was the first one to break the silence, " Nick are you ok?" His face held the same smirk it normally did, but his eyes were baggy and red as if he not slept.

"Wow Carrot's nothing gets passed you huh?" He said trying to avoid the topic. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about his dream, its just that he knew where it would lead, and that she was the one hurting and he didn't want any sympathy while she was like this, he didn't deserve it.

Judy was smarter than that though, "It looks to me that you didn't sleep very well last night. Like even worse than the night we went out to the house, now what happened, was it a bad dream?" The last part was said sarcastically, she was trying to take the joking road in order to get behind his walls he had set up. 

'Dang it' Nick thought, 'well might as well go for it'.

"Yes it was." He said seriously. This put Judy out of her joking mood, she knew she broke the walls just wasn't expecting such a quick change out of him, 'maybe he is opening up to me more easily' she thought

"I've had this dream a few times now but last night was much clearer than past occurrences." He stopped to look at Judy who was looking back at him with rapt attention.

"In this dream I'm not in control of myself, as if I'm being controlled by some outside force and the real me is trapped up in my mind. But what the physical part of me is doing is horrible things to innocent mammals. Laying waste to anything or anyone in my way. That had happened in every occurrence of the dream but last night it went even further. I heard someone screaming under rubble and when my body went to check I saw that it was you Judy, you were in my dream." Nick once again looked at her to see she was surprised, "and before you say anything, I know that people close to you can appear in dreams normally but this one felt different. It was like you were actually there. Anyways, you were hurt pretty badly, from what I don't know. I-I grabbed you and held you up." Nick was beginning to tear up again remembering the dream vividly, seeing the images when he closed his eyes.

"You said something that affected me entirely, and I fought to control gain control of myself and I got it just for a moment to respond to you. But than something or someone got back in the drivers seat and-and then whatever was controlling me made me hurt you, in horrible ways and I woke up because I couldn't handle seeing you get hurt. And then I was up all night because I was afraid I was gonna go back into my dream and hurt you again. Seeing you today getting hurt by Skye, scared me half to death, because for a moment I flashed back to my dream and thought that-that-th-" Nick was cut off when one of Judy's paws grabbed his.

"Nick its okay, I'm okay you didn't hurt me it was just Skye." She said in hopes to calm him down.

Nick took some deeps breaths in order to calm down again, "Judy I was afraid I was gonna lose you. I didn't tell you what you said to me to cause me to gain my control back because I discovered that I felt the same way, and I don't know if you actually feel that way or if it was all just a part of the dream. But I stayed up all night thinking about three words you said to me, and I realized that I love you…"

To Nick it all just sounded like rambles, but to Judy it was magic in her ears and everything she had ever wanted.

"And I know it is weird to love you because I'm a predator and you're a prey, were different species and there would be so much going against that it wouldn't be fair to you…" Nick continued to ramble on, instead of saying anything Judy got up, cupped Nicks muzzle in her paws and kissed him. It wasn't anything special, in fact it was a pretty awkward kiss, but to them fireworks were going off, it was such a simple kiss yet it carried everything they were both feeling, and after the initial shock Nick kissed her back.

They eventually released the kiss to catch their breath, but Judy still had to say what she needed to say.

"I love you too." Stroking his muzzle.

It was just then that the moment was interrupted by the sound of bags dropping to the ground. There was shock on all three of the mammals faces, the nurse who had dropped her things was looking at them with confusion.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?"

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, this was probably the chapter I was most excited to write because of how it all came together. Please be sure to let me know if you have any ideas, question, or concerns I will totally answer them. I wrote this chapter in three nights because I really just felt the flow coming you know? Anyways who knows whats gonna happen next chapter because I for sure don't.

-Dag


	13. Chapter 12: Fight Club

After the embarrassing situation with the nurse, Nick and Judy escaped with a mere headache from the nurse screaming at them. She wasn't even mad that they were there it was more a because how wrong Nick was treating Judy's wound. Thankfully she didn't ask how it happened and she didn't bring up the kiss she walked in on, and after Judy was all patched up they were on their way to the first class in the gym. The entire freshman class was there just like it was for the first day of school, except instead of a stage there was a large octagon in the middle. Somehow the bleachers were set so that they surrounded the octagon on all sides with a small gap on one side for students to get in. The octagon itself looked more like a really poorly built hockey rink with boards that towered up the side to keep whatever was in there in or to protect the mammals on the outside.

The bell had not rung yet so Nick and Judy weren't late. That doesn't mean they were the first ones there either, in fact they were two of the last to show up and got lots of looks when they came in together. The pair took a seat next to each other in two of the last remaining open spots in the bleachers. Murmurs and nervous chit chat echoed throughout the gym, most of the mammals around them were discussing how strange of a pair the two made, but everyone else was confused as to what was going on and why they were situated like they were.

"Alright listen up maggots" came a yell from everyone's favorite polar bear as she walked in through the gap and into the middle of the octagon. "Today is where we begin one of my favorite parts of teaching this class, this is a little activity I like to call 'Situational Simulations'. Now before you all started talking to each other about what that means let me explain it." She walked over to a panel and pushed a button causing the floor to open up and a rope drop from the ceiling. Out of the floor came a circular bowl that was full of saw blades.

"Pay attention now because this is where it gets interesting. This activity requires five mammals , two hero's and two sidekicks along with one hostage" At the word hostage much of the crowd erupted into conversation. Nick and Judy simply looked at each other, nervousness reflected in each other's expression.

"Settle down now, settle down. Now when I say hostage this mammal will not be in any danger they are just there as an objective for one team to capture. The two hero's will be divided into superhero and villain, the sidekicks will assist the two hero's. The goal of the superhero is to capture the hostage and return them to safety, the goal of the villain is to keep the superhero's away from the hostage, make sense?" Majority of the mammals nodded at this, it was simple enough, almost like a messed up version of capture the flag but with another mammal and not a flag.

"Alright then, lets get our first victims out here. Fangmeyer and Delgato you will be superhero and sidekick respectively. Then we have Wolford and Higgins you will be villain and sidekick respectively. And the hostage will be Wesselton"

"Hey it's pronounced Weaselton!" The weasel yelled as he made his way down the steps towards the arena.

"Now in order to prevent any injury I will be giving each of you padding so that you don't get to beat up, the whole point of this is to use your powers so embrace it and work together on this and find ways to combine your powers to better help the team. Also nothing lethal otherwise I will take you out personally and drag your butt straight out and drop you off the side of the school." Ursula said as she handed the two pairs their padding one set being blue the other being red, (hero's wear blue villains wear red).

Once Weaselton was tied and suspended over the saws did Ursula take her place on a tower overlooking the whole arena.

"Alright now when I blow this whistle you will have five minutes to try and complete your tasks, good luck"

 _SCREEEEE!_ The whistle sounded.

Suddenly the saws began to spin up and and the lights focused in on the arena, Fangmeyer was the first to make a move, with a snap of his fingers his hands burst into tiger then shot a ball of fire towards the villain team who were lucky enough to jump out of the way. Wolford then lunged forward the tiger who was unprepared for the attack, the wolf grabbed the tiger by the shoulders and flung him at the boards.

The students outside the arena began to cheer on the mammals inside, siding with those that they were friends with. Nick gave a surprised clap at Wolford's impressive move, Judy looking over at him with nervousness in her eyes. Nick gave a reassuring smile, "its okay I'm guessing you won't have to this considering the fact that you are injured." Judy only nodded in response.

Meanwhile things were getting "heated" in the arena, Delgato began to move like a blur, the lion clearly was gifted with the ability to run incredibly fast and took it to his advantage as he went after Higgins, the hippo being at a disadvantage due to the fact that he couldn't run very fast. Instead of running he closed his eyes put on a face of concentration and then disappeared out of sight. The timer on the large scoreboard counted down slowly and was now at 3:30, no one appeared to have the advantage as the fight was very even on both sides.

Delgato zipped over to Wolford landing a solid punch on the side of the wolf knocking him over and winding him. Delgato was then lifted into the air and dropped colliding with Higgins invisible knee on the way down. A koala next to Nick was getting very into the event screaming and cheering along, "This is better then wrestling!" He yelled.

It was Fangmeyer who made the first move to get the trapped weasel, he ran towards the circle of saws and leaped into the air but came up short and landed in a roll on the other side. No one in the audience had any idea where Higgins was but Delgato began straining his ears around till he found what he was looking for, he then ran in a random direction and landed a kick on something big, the hippo came out of his invisibility as he flopped on his side in obvious pain.

"I don't know if the pads stopped that" Nick said to no one in general.

The clock was now winding down to 1 minute, it didn't seem like the hero's were gonna be able to get Weaselton considering the fact that they were so focused on each other not the task at hand.

Right before time ran out Fangmeyer finally landed a fire ball on Wolford, causing the fur on the top of his fur to singe, it didn't light him on fire but it definitely hurt as the wolf howled in pain.

Braaaaaaaahhhh! The scoreboard sounded signaling that time was up.

"Well looks like the Villains win this round, Wolford go get your burns checked I don't need any third degree burns in my class. Next up we have…"

The class went on, several rounds going by not one team being able to get to the hostage simply because the teams were not working together enough.

"Ok next up we have Wilde and O'reilly on the hero side. And then we have Frost and Ramsey on the villains." Ursula yelled

Nicks blood ran cold, it had just been over an hour since the incident on the front steps occurred and now he was going to confront her face to face in an arena where he had to fight her. He looked over at Judy to see what her reaction was and saw a very similar face mirrored in hers.

"This is all way to coincidental…" she said

"I know I was just thinking that, and who is this O'reilly mammal I've never heard of that name before."

Just as Nick was standing up Ursula screamed again, "oh yeah and the hostage is gonna be Hopps"

All eyes were now on the pair as they looked at each other once again, the face wasn't of nervousness, Judy's face was now one of straight fear.

"Well we don't have all day you two lets go" Ursula yelled again

Judy ran over to the polar bear trying to come up with a good excuse, the bandage around her arm would certainly help.

"Coach Ursula, I don't think I can participate today, you see I… uh… fell so it could be a danger for me" she tried to sound convincing but it was hard to do when her heart was beating out of her chest.

The polar bear looked the bunny over, "you seem fine to me, that little boo boo you have there shouldn't cause any problems I promise, plus you don't have any doctors note so that must mean you're fine."

Judy knew she couldn't fight the bears reasoning and went to get into position as the hostage. Meanwhile Nick was meeting in the arena with his teammate who just so happened to be the fennec fox from the first day of school on the bus. 'Wait why are the two foxes on a team that doesn't seem merely coincidental' Nick thought putting on his padding. As he was strapping on the pads someone bumped into him nearly knocking him over. He turned to see who it was but his eyes ended up locking with crystal blue ones that were full of ferocity.

They stared for awhile, Nick seething in resentment while Skye stared with eyes that were basically emotionless.

"Hm well I guess I'll go easy on you, I don't think I'm technically allowed to hit a girl." Nick said putting his classic smirk back on his face to hide his anger toward the vixen.

"Ha, I wouldn't recommend that because I won't holding pack on any of my hits" she said intimidatingly as she walked to the other side of the arena the her teammate, Doug Ramsay, a very large ram who looked confused by the hostility but shrugged it off and followed the vixen to the other side.

Nick turned to face his teammate who was staring at his phone not interested in anything that was happening around him.

"Um hey, you're O'reilly?" Nick asked trying to get his attention

The small fox looked up anger deep in his brown eyes. "Yeah that's me, call me Finnick" he said in a deep gruff voice.

"Alright well, I'm Nick, pleasure to meet you" Nick reached out hoping to shake his paw. The fennec fox simply looked at the hand with disgust.

"Ooookay, well as you know I don't have any powers so were kind of S.O.L. Unless you have something special that will save us all." Nick said trying to combat the hostility coming off the small fox.

Finnick locked eyes with Nick before slowly nodding, "yeah I think I have something."

"Well then you go and attack and be a distraction I'll find a way to get Carr- I mean Hopps down." Nick said

The fox nodded in response, as they took their places on their side. Nick looked up to see his bunny dangling, his instincts were going haywire seeing her dangle in such a way. It made him feel crazy protective, and caused him to release some of his power. The fennec fox next to him felt this power and looked at Nick curiously, he had felt this power before during the demo but being up this close to it caused a shiver to run down his spine.

 _SCRREEEEEE!_ The whistle sounded and the saws began to spin up. The villain team charged around the spinning saws and were moving in on the heros quickly. Nick looked over at Finnick to see if he was doing anything only to see him with his eyes closed and his paws to get her like he was meditating.

"Uh buddy, in case you haven't noticed the round has star-"

"If you don't shut up you'll be in a lot of danger" Finnick said in response, his voice sounding even angrier than it had before.

Nick looked over again when he heard that voice to see the fox growing in size and changing color, his tan fur switched to a darker green color and he grew to at least twelve feet tall. His close were ripped off except for his pants leaving him shirtless, green, tall, and extremely muscular.

The four other mammals in the arena as well as everyone outside the arena looked at him with awe.

"Oh so that's what he's got" Nick in surprise.

Finnick let out a gut wrenching screen as he ran towards the ram who was cowering in fear at the sight of the huge fennec fox. The ram took off running in a futile attempt to get away from him, Nick couldn't help but let out a chuckle. That chuckle was interrupted by a fist connecting with Nicks face, luckily the pads he was wearing protected him from most of the impact but it didn't keep it from hurting.

He already knew who hit him, her white fur was easily seen out of the corner of his eye. Now Nick wasn't exactly a fighter in anyway, shape, or form. But being the son of superhero's had its perks, and being a sly fox allowed him the skill of improvising pretty well.

"Is that all you got?" Nick asked trying to make Skye upset. It seemed to work as she growled and bared her teeth. She swung her arm trying to connect her fist to the side of Nicks head, he easily stepped back and dodged. Skye was smarter than Nick thought as she reached forward grabbed the collar of Nick's shirt and pulled him in connecting directly with Nicks nose. It completely threw him off as his eyes instantly started tearing up as the pain shot through his whole face. Nick could taste blood dripping down from his nose into his mouth.

The coppery taste made his heart beat faster, he felt his grip on his powers loosen. The feeling coming off of him could be felt by everyone in the arena, the only ones who didn't flinch were Finnick and Doug Ramsay who were busy doing their own thing, and Skye who now was no longer intimidated by him after what happened this morning. Instead she just let her own restraint let go, it wasn't as strong as Nick but it combined to create a force that made the students watching shiver and feel afraid for their lives.

Nick felt it and It caught him off guard, 'how can she have the same feeling coming off her?' he thought. He didn't have much time to think as she began to prepare for another hit. Nick was ready though as he ran up to meet her, instead of hitting her Nick simply slid underneath her, which she was not prepared for. It caused her to dive over him allowing Nick an open spot to attack from behind, he quickly rotated around and swept his knocking her onto the ground. Nick really didn't want to hurt her, even though she had probably just broken his nose, he couldn't bring himself to do it so instead of going to subdue her he took off running towards the saws where Judy was dangling. But Skye had other plans as she grabbed his leg sending him face first into the ground.

She pulled Nick back and pinned him to the ground putting her arm around his throat in an effort to put him down. Nick tried reaching behind him to get ahold of something to get her off but the lack of oxygen in his body made things rather difficult as his vision began to tunnel. 'I'm sorry Judy' was the only thing Nick could think as everything began turning black.

Suddenly the weight was off him and the arm around his neck was gone, he took full advantage of this and gulped in as much air as he could. He turned to see Finnick holding Skye by her leg like she was a child's toy.

Nick locked eyes with the large fox and nodded, Finnick merely squinted his eyes and nodded back grunting. The timer was now counting down from 45, 'there's still time' he thought as he turned to see how close Judy was to the saws and his heart lurched at the sight of her being so high up above them. He knew they were fake it was still scary none the less. A drop from there surely wouldn't do her any good.

A beam of light surprised Nick stopping him in his tracks, he turned to see the source being Skye, her target, the rope holding his bunny above the spinning blades. It wasn't a long burst but it was enough to cut the rope sending the rabbit plummeting the 20 foot fall.

"NOOOOO" he screamed as he began running towards her, the students watching gasped as they watched her helplessly plummet.

Nick ran a lot, from other mammals, for fun, but this was the fastest he had ever run in his life. He couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet he was moving so fast. Just when he reached the base of the saws she was just about to drop inside them. Nick dove over them grabbing her just in time. He landed on the other side ungracefully rolling over a few times. He made sure to take the brunt of the impact to keep Judy from getting hurt. When they finally stopped rolling Nick looked at her, she was shaking but she seemed to be okay.

Nick looked around, all eyes were on them now as the severity of what just happened struck him. 'I just saved her, she could've gotten hurt but I did that… how did I do that' he thought to himself as he slowly got up, chuckling in disbelief.

What he was not expecting was the applause that erupted from the students watching, they were cheering and hollering at the display they had just witnessed. It was better than any action movie and it happened live.

Nick didn't know what to do, it was strange how fast they all went from distrusting a fox to now cheering one on. All he could do was smile and wave taking note that not all the students were cheering some were just watching with distrust in their eyes. Nick couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the Finnick holding Skye, he eventually dropped her as he began to shrink back down to his normal size, Skye wasn't hurt but it was an embarrassing act for her. She looked at the pair with disgust, Nick stared her down, put on his best smirk and gave her a wink just to rub it in.

Judy was returning back to reality herself and let out a laugh at Nick's wink, hugging his side. Now that the adrenaline was dying down Nick could feel his powers ebb away and a dull ache returned to the rest of his body, as well as a sharp burst of pain went through his nose causing him to lean against Judy so he didn't lose his balance. She looked up confused but understood what was happening and leaned to support more of his weight as she led him out of the arena. The pair passed by Ursula who nodded as they walked past,

"You get fixed up Wilde I would like to talk to you when you get back" she said, Nick didn't want to taste anymore blood so he decided to just put up a thumbs up.

The pair walked down the halls in silence, until Judy decided to break the silence.

"This is gonna be awkward seeing that nurse again" she said holding in a laugh,

Nick snorted causing blood to spurt from his nose everywhere, that caused both of them to laugh. The coppery taste once again returning to his mouth.

The two then continued their walk just enjoying being next to each other, "hey Nick?" Judy asked

"Hmm?" Was all Nick could get out,

"What you did back there was really impressive, you took her down without even hitting her. Sure you had help from Finnick but still. I'm proud of you" She said. Nick stopped their walking and pulled her in to a deep hug, if it wasn't for his nose poring blood he would have kissed her. 'Oh well, next time I guess' he thought.

Eventually, after they hugged for a few more minutes, they made it to the nurses office.

"Oh great you two again" was all the nurse said as they walked.

Nick simply shrugged and sat down at the nurses bed and prepared himself for yet another rant.

'Well starting in the nurses office and ending in the nurses offices, seems fitting.'


	14. Chapter 13: Love and Loss

Nicks nose wasn't actually broken, which was a huge relief. "I gotta look good and I can't do that with a big bandage around my nose" is what he told Judy who simply rolled her eyes at him. The school day had ended and they were now walking the streets after getting off the flying bus. Their path to their homes were similar but ended up splitting off at the end. During their walk they simply chatted about what had happened that day and the fact that Skye had nearly tried to kill both of them at some point.

"Yeah, and how does she have the ability to shoot lasers that's insane." Nick screamed to no one,

"And did you feel the aura she was giving off it was so weird, like she was some sort of savage, like is that what it feels like when I let loose. It's scary" Nick shivered at the thought of the feel she gave off.

Judy could tell he was pretty unsettled."Hey if it makes you feel better I don't feel that around you, I feel safe around you" she said .

Nick smiled, "Thanks Carrots its good to know that I'm not a some maniac to everyone"

"You're very welcome" she said.

Eventually they came to the spot where they had to split up, it was a bit awkward because they weren't used to the whole relationship thing. So at first they hugged, Nick broke the hug and looked down into Judy's eyes not sure what to do next, luckily Judy knew what to say.

"Hey what if you… came over to, uhm… my place for a bit…" She said avoiding Nicks eyes.

Nick looked in surprise, he certainly wasn't expecting much from this moment but that was probably one of the last things he was expecting out of her mouth. He didn't let the surprise last on his face, he put back on his signature smirk and bent down to be closer to Judy,

"Aww does the wittle wabbit need the big strong fox to walk her home" He said in a teasing voice.

Judy gave him a glare but Nick could tell that it wasn't real, she enjoyed this teasing because it was from him, if anyone else said that they would have a rabbit footprint in their face.

"No but I know that if a certain fox gets bored again he will probably go and try to solve a murder crime for no reason" She said matching Nicks teasing voice.

Nick stiffened at the thought of the house from those nights ago rang through his head, as well as the message that was in there. Judy noticed that and instantly regretted what she said.

"Oh Nick I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring th-"

"No its fine, and to answer your question yes I would like to go to your place" he said interrupting her. Judy couldn't read the fox very well but could tell that what she said had gotten to him, by the way that he had straightened up and looked zoned out as if looking back at the horrible things they had seen in that house. But he played it off pretty well putting back on his signature smirk. She couldn't help but wonder just how much did get to him, she had only seen the fox open up one time and that was when she caused it, which she still felt bad for, but it must be hard to just hold everything in like that.

Nick began walking and noticed that a certain grey fur ball wasn't at his side, he looked back to see her busy in thought looking at nothing.

"Hey Carrots," he asked getting her attention, "I said its fine alright don't worry yourself, and also I don't know where I'm going so I need you to lead the way."

She smiled and skipped to his side, 'I'll just ask him some other time' she thought to herself.

They continued to walk together until finally they reached the small apartment complex where Judy lived.

Nick didn't know what to expect, he had never actually been inside her apartment. But upon arrival it was exactly as he was expecting small and dusty, the wall paper was falling off in some places and the neighbors she had were easily heard through the walls, but one thing this place had that Nicks home didn't was good ol' privacy. No parents were going to barge in anytime soon, and ignoring the fact that the neighbors could probably hear them made Judy's box of an apartment feel like solitary confinement.

Judy noticed Nicks gaze searching her room and felt immediately self conscious of how gross and small the place was.

"It isn't much, but its what my parents could afford for me way out here" she tried to explain.

Nick looked at her and gave his best smirk, "its fine Carrots, this is probably better then anything I'm gonna get for myself in the future." He said walking towards the small bed covered in stuffed bunnies.

Judy's breath hitched as he picked up one of the rabbits, Nick looked at it with confusion before realization dawned on him.

"Hey Fluff, are you ever lonely out here by yourself?" He asked, concern in his emerald eyes.

Judy was expecting some joke against her about having children toys, she was not expecting to him to ask such a sincere question.

"Well being out here is a lot different from how it is back in BunnyBurrow" she said taking a seat on the bed, patting a spot for Nick to join her. Her nerves were much less frazzled because of Nick acting serious for once.

"Back at home I don't have this kind of privacy, there's bunny's all over the place and because I have so many siblings there's no such things as secrets" she leaned into Nick who then put his arm around her, Judy felt safe here tucked away where the world could never find her.

"How many siblings do you have?" Nick asked, 'it must be a big number if she doesn't have any privacy' he thought to himself.

"275" she said as if that was nothing.

Silence filled the room and Judy wondered if Nick had fallen asleep but when she looked up she could barely hold back her laugh at his face. His jaw was hanging and his ears were folded back, if anyone had ever asked what the face of shock was they would probably imagine Nicks face.

"Two… Two hundred and… seventy five…" He whispered out trying to comprehend that number, sure he thought it would be big but not that big. Being an only kit it was hard to comprehend that many mammals sharing the same blood as him.

"Yeah it isn't as bad as it sounds I swear, majority of us have our own room so that was nice but there was just so much happening everyday, I felt comfortable in the hustle and bustle of it all, and I get some of that in the morning here but its not the same. I use these to make me feel a it better when I am feeling lonely because I miss my family but I also know that what I have out here is really good and I don't want to lose it over such a small thing" she said holding one of the stuffed rabbits in her hands.

"Well now you don't have to be lonely" Nick spoke up after a comfortable silence.

Judy looked up confused not sure what he meant by that,

"You now have a big fox to keep you company when your feeling alone, okay?" He asked,

Judy let out a laugh, "Okay, and hey Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you"

The arm around Judy squeezed tighter pulling the rabbit further into his side

"You got it Judy" He said

The fact that he had used her real name caused tears to start gathering in her eyes, but they weren't because she was sad, no it was far from it. She was happy. She reached around and hugged Nicks side trying to embrace the moment for as long as she could.

Time went by but it didn't feel like it, Nick had his eyes open for one second while the light came in through the window and then he closed them for what felt like a second but when he reopened them the light was gone and the sky was black.

He looked down to see that Judy had fallen asleep, she looked so peaceful, everything about her was calm, her breathing, her posture leant up against him.

Nick knew he had to start going home, considering it was dark is was probably past 8 and his parents were probably freaking out wondering where he was, or they were out doing superhero stuff and didn't know, but Nick didn't want to tempt fate. He slowly stood up from the bed, trying to set the small rabbit down as softly as he could without waking her up. Her eyes flickered open at the sound of him getting up,

"Nick?" She whispered out, sleep still thick in her voice.

"Sorry Fluff I didn't mean to wake you I just have to get going, its pretty late."

"Mm-Kay" she said sitting up rubbing her eyes.

Nick stood up but something wasn't right, his head felt light as if he was having a head rush from getting up too fast. But then it hit him like a freight train, pain pulsed in his head and static filled his mind. It was just like the night they were attacked. The pain knocked him to the ground as the he lost control of his body. The sound of him falling quickly brought Judy out of her slumber as well as the sound of him whimpering.

"Oh gosh not again" she said as she sat down and cradled his head in her lap putting her hands on his temples and focused her energy into her palms.

Meanwhile Nick was now stuck in a thick snow storm in his mind, a forest surrounded him but the snow falling was so dense that he could barely see in front him. The cold was ebbing away at him, as he tried to move his legs felt like stone, it was hard to move anything. His body felt heavy and the harsh wind didn't help.

"JUDY!" He called out, his voice echoed all around him before coming back. He kept trying to move around but progress was becoming harder to make as his whole body felt like it was turning off. Pain was everywhere and cold ate away at him.

"JUDY!" He called again becoming more desperate for anything to come help him, because in that moment he felt like he should lie down and close his eyes, but Nick knew that if he did that he wouldn't wake up. The wind continued to howl around him as his eyelids began to feel droopy,

"No no stay awake" he said throwing snow into his face to try and wake him up.

The snow was now up to his hips, he couldn't feel any part of his body it was all numb because of the cold. Things were turning bad and the were turning quickly, He was about to give up until,

"NICK!" A voice called, and it was the sweetest voice he had heard all day, a dim light was shining off in the distance.

Energy flowed through Nick and suddenly he didn't feel tired anymore. He quickly pulled himself out of the snow and started sprinting towards the light.

"JUDY!" He yelled again, he didn't want to lose her because if he did, he wasn't getting out of here.

"NICK, I CAN HEAR YOU" she screamed again.

What once was a small prick of light began growing until it surrounded him, and when it became to bright to bear he closed his eyes but never stopped running.

Consciousness began returning to Nick, he could still feel the pain in his head but it was slowly going away. He could feel his back lying on the ground and his head leaned up against something warm, that warm thing whispering quietly to herself.

"Come on Nick wake up, please" she said softly.

Slowly Nicks eyes flickered open, and he was greeted with sight of Judys face, although her eyes were closed.

"Carrot's I think I'm okay" he croaked out.

Her eyes instantly flickered open at the sound of his voice, "Oh thank goodness you're awake" she said with a sigh of relief. "What happened was it just like last time?"

Nick tried to get up but a flash of pain through his whole body forced him back down. Judy his face scrunch up in pain and she started to stroke the fur on top of his head so that he felt more comfortable. He only sighed in response, he hated feeling vulnerable like this even if he didn't know the cause of his pain.

"Yeah, it was exactly like that" he said

"Why does it happen?" She asked

"Well I don't know but I wish I did so that I could find a way to stop it" he didn't know why he was angry but the fact that he didn't know what was happening to him just made him angry.

"Do you want to go talk to someone about it?"

"Not really, I feel like it has something to do with all that is going on, the first time it happened we were attacked so maybe it was because of that… were not being attacked are we?" He asked although he already knew the answer. His senses were still loose and he couldn't sense anyone except for the other tenants in the building.

Judy chuckled at the joke but also felt her fur prickle at the thought of someone about to attack, she was glad that Nicks sense of humor hadn't changed through this experience.

They lay there in silence in a few more minutes, during this time Nick couldn't help but think about a lot of stuff, most of it applying to him and ways that this pain could be killing him slowly, but he also thought about how it was probably just some killer migraines that popped up every once in awhile.

Out of no where Judy began to laugh out loud, it started out as small chuckles then turn into to full on laughter. Nick looked at her as if she had lost her mind, they were silent for like five minutes what could she have thought of that was so funny. Instead of questioning it though he just began to laugh as well, the pain in his body had gone away enough to where he wasn't dying from the pain.

"Ha, Carrots are you gonna fill me in on whats so funny or you just gonna keep going on for no reason" he asked in between fits of laughter.

Judy had to wipe away tears from her eyes before she could respond.

"I just find it really funny that the first time we are alone we spend the majority of it in silence."

Judy watched as understanding dawned on his face but, "Maybe its just because we're so comfortable around each other" Nick said in response.

Judy merely shrugged, it was true that they had known each other for a short time but she personally felt she could trust the fox more than most other mammals.

Once all the pain had subsided Nick sat up and turned to face Judy, "listen Carrots, not that I don't love nearly dying around you I just really need to get home. My parents are probably freaking out right now and its pretty late."

Judy nodded, but didn't feel like he really wanted to go, or should.

"Nick are you sure? You said it yourself you nearly just died, you okay with walking all the way home by yourself?" She wanted to be sure he was 100% before he left, in reality she didn't want to go to school tomorrow to find out he never made it home.

Nick chuckled, "Fluff you have to take me out to dinner before you can get me in your bed" Judy became very flustered, Nick laughed even more at her inability to respond to that. To silence her he just leaned forward and placed a kiss right between her ears. Leaning back he then looked her in the eyes.

"I appreciate your concern but I think I'm going to be okay. Alright?" He asked

"Okay" she said leaning into him.

Nick reached around and picked her up before placing her down on her bed. Letting go and grabbing his bag Nick turned to leave. He turned just as he opened the door and gave Judy an honest smile,

"I'll see you tomorrow Carrot's, bright and early"

Judy returned the smile, "See you tomorrow"

And with that Nick turned and was gone, the warmth of him around her didn't fade as she reached for her bag and began her work thinking of how her day had started so bad but ended so well.

"Yeah I think it could get better from here" she said to no one in particular.

"Oh yeah well it could also get worse" The voice of her neighbor called through the wall.

Judy's part of town wasn't bad, its just that no where in Zootopia was it really safe to travel at night. Walking through Savannah Central was weird at this time of night, some of it was adults going out for a night on the town, some of it was teens out doing stuff that would definitely get them in trouble, and then there were those poor sad mammals who didn't have anywhere to go except for the dark alleyways. At the time when Nick was walking to was about 10:30, there were mammals out but majority of them were headed home just as he was. And growing up around the streets made him comfortable with this late night walk.

He passed dark alleyways, closed stores, and even run down homes but didn't look at any of them, he didn't want to risk seeing something he wasn't supposed to see.

To keep himself entertained during his walk he took out his phone and decided to just scroll through something not caring what it was. Nick didn't even notice what he was looking at till he read three words that stood out to him "Bunny Mating Ritual".

"How the hell did I get here?" He asked himself not quite remembering how he even got there.

But despite his surprise he decided to read more into it, 'Rabbits as a species never have a true mating season, they often go into "heat" which means they have an urge to mate with whatever male they are fond of' he read in his mind. He shook his head, 'why am I reading this' he thought, this was so wrong. They literally just became a thing today and now he was already reading about mating rituals. 'But I'm curious whats so wrong with that?' It was like two different sides of him arguing, eventually one side won out and he read on.

'Rabbits, like many other mammals are monogamous and tend to only have one mate for life' he read the last bit slowly, allowing the information to run through his mind again. He had no idea that other mammals let alone the mammal he was now in love with mated for life. It was so surprising that Nick almost missed the feeling of the fur on his neck rise up, or his senses go crazy at the feeling of a threat approaching.

His entire body screamed at him to duck as he heard the whistling of an object flying at his head. He threw himself to the ground just as a large shock trap flew over him and grabbed a light post, the electricity coursing through it causing the light to go out. Luckily his powers allowed his to adjust quickly so he could see a dark figure running up on him. Nick scrambled up and began running straight at the figure, dropping his bag in the process. Nick attempted to replicate what had been pulled off earlier in the morning sliding down to try and trip up the attacker, but somehow the figure knew exactly what he was thinking and planted their foot into the ground so that when he slid their foot went straight to his crotch. All that was heard was a thud and a whimper as pain shot through the fox, a worse pain than he had felt in a long time. The pain was so great that he didn't even realize the figure had picked him up till he was flying down an alleyway he was walking past.

His back hit the wall hard and then collapsed to the ground, by now the pain was not as bad as it was in his nether region. He slowly got up biting through the pain to show that he wasn't giving up.

"You seem stronger than when we last met" a voice said to him,

"But then again last time I saw you, you were unconscious and being held by a bunny"

He didn't want to show it but he was extremely scared at this point, the memory from the house flashing through his mind. The message that said they would meet rang through his head. He knew he had to carry on his life's work and not let this mammal see that he was intimidated. He finally looked up seeing the masked mammal for the first time.

"Hmm, no I think I would remember seeing someone like you even if I was asleep, you know with the whole Count Dogula thing going on with the black and the cape, you better stay away I got a thing of garlic wit-"

"Silence" the figure said interrupting Nick. The fox smirked at that, 'good I'm getting to them' he thought.

"A useless fox like you doesn't deserve powers at all, same with your parents" The figure said

"Oh but some masked murderer like you does, or are you just some rich normal mammal who feels a need to do things their own way" Nick said ignoring the biting remark leaning up against a wall to show that he wasn't intimidated at all.

"By the way you want to tell me your name or do you want me to keep referring to you as the masked mammal?" he asked

Nick could feel the mammal fuming from the other end of the alley. What he wasn't expecting was for an invisible hand to grab his throat and lift him off the ground and pushing him against the wall holding him there. He couldn't even scream the grip around his throat was too tight, he blinked at the pain that shot through his head as it was slammed against the wall and when he opened his eyes the figure was right beside him.

"I respect you Nick" at the sound of his name he looked directly at the glass on the front of the helmet. "A random mammal attacks you but all you do is try to make them feel like the small one, that takes guts and right now all I want to do is rip them out." Nicks eyes widened and the hold on his throat got tighter stopping him from breathing, he reached and tried everything he could to have the grip release him but when he felt where the grip was all he felt was his own fur. The lack of air was beginning to cause Nick to black out. Right before he crossed the precipice the force around his neck lessened.

"But I won't because I have a proposition for you" The figure said.

"What do you want?" Nick croaked out

"I need your powers, but I may not need to take them from you. You have yet to understand just how great your power is, I can teach you and allow you to access them deeper till you become the most powerful mammal in the world. People will bow before us and statues will be built in our honor." They said getting more intense as they went on.

Nick had heard enough, "If you think after all you've done that I will just suddenly switch sides with you than you're a pretty big idi-" he was cut off again by the invisible force around his neck tightening.

"Fine let me change what I said, you will work for me whether you like it or not in the end, I have my ways and there is a little someone I can toy with to get you to do that" They said raising their arm where a hologram popped up displaying a sight that caused his heart to stop. It was Judy but she had a red dot on her forehead, she was to busy working at her desk to notice. The sight of her caused Nick to unleash all his power, a strength he was not used to surged through him.

The power was so great that the masked figure stepped back and the force around Nicks throat was released. He landed flawlessly on the ground and looked straight up at the mammal taking a threatening step towards them.

"Ah ah ah, one more step and the cute little bunny gets it" They said in a teasing voice, that stopped Nick in his tracks, the power he felt surging through him dying off quickly. He looked down defeated as the mammal stepped forward putting a gentle hand under his chin forcing him to look up. The glare he gave the mammal would have killed that mammal.

"That's It, you are mine now" the mammal walked past him towards the opening of the alley.

"We will be in touch, and yes I have a name and I so do hope you remember it. I am Magnus Mortem don't you forget it Nicholas Wilde."

And like that the mammal was gone, leaving Nick alone in the alley way.

Nick had never felt so much pent up anger in his life, he swung his arm towards the wall expecting pain to shoot through it but instead his arm went through the wall no pain at all. He looked over at the hole he had just made with confusion.

"Huh well that's new"

Hello everyone I hope you had a good thanksgiving and ate lots of food, unless you don't celebrate thanksgiving in which that is sad. Anyways, sorry this chapter took awhile to come out but the beginning was just difficult to start and then the holiday happened and I didn't write for a solid week. But here it is, and I'm very proud of the end result, the story is moving along perfectly. Anyways in case you don't speak Latin, Magnus Mortem means the "Big Death" pretty cheesy but it sounds cool so yeah. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think and I will talk to y'all when the next chapter of The Amazing Nick Wilde comes out.


	15. Chapter 14: THE Nicholas Wilde

Morning couldn't come sooner, all Nick wanted to do was tell Judy what had happened but the words he was told rang in his head all night.

" _You work for me now…"_ what did they want with him. 'They didn't necessarily say that I couldn't tell her though' he thought.

His alarm going off was his cue to get up out of bed although he had been awake for a long time before it went off. The bad part about living in a cave was that he could never naturally tell what time it was, but either way, Nick knew he had to get up and make his move otherwise he would just stay there all day. So reluctantly he got up from his bed, cleaned himself and prepared himself for the day that was about to come.

Lucky him he wasn't late for the bus, taking his seat where it always was right next to the fennec fox although now Nick just knew him as Finnick. The short tod didn't pay Nick any mind when Nick took his seat simply sitting with headphones in and looking out the window. Nick felt somewhat indebted to him considering how helpful he was in the arena the other day. He nudged him slightly catching the foxes attention as he turned around and took a headphone out.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out in that arena" Nick said sincerely, the fox simply nodded in response. Nick hadn't yet heard the fox say a word so he expected that was all he was gonna get.

"I did it for the grade" Finnick said, his voice so deep it surprised Nick leaving him in awe that such a small mammal could have that deep of a voice. He quickly realized that he was staring,

"Well still thanks" He quickly added putting his classic smirk back on.

The bus eventually landed in front of the school right where it always did. Even though it had only been a day since he was last here it felt like it had been months. 'Almost like someone's inability to write a story was holding us in place' Nick thought.

Right on the steps where they had met the last few days was the sight he had been waiting to see all night, his bunny was standing talking to some other prey but as soon as Nick came walking closer to them they all scurried away. 'Oh right my aura' he thought, Judy looked confused as to why they suddenly left until she turned and saw her fox coming up the steps.

"Great so now you're scaring off my friends?" She asked sarcastically,

Nick made a face of mock offense, putting his paw to his chest. "Pardon me but I thought I was the only friend this bunny could have."

"No I'm allowed to have other friends but I am only allowed one boyfriend so there you go" She said with a sly grin,

"Oh well that's a relief" Nick said as they walked up the stairs looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

Judy could tell that something was off with Nick by the way he was scanning the area around them.

"Nick are you okay?" She asked

He seemed to find what he was looking for because he reached down and grabbed Judy's arm, dragging her towards the janitors closet.

They stepped in, Nick shutting the door behind him. He turned to face her but his breath caught in his throat when he saw a symbol behind Judy. It was small, the average mammal probably wouldn't see it but Nicks heightened senses picked it up almost immediately. It was clear as day what the symbol was, two M's together on the wall behind bottles of cleaning sprays.

"Nick whats going on with you?" Judy asked concern lacing her voice.

'How do they know, what is happening?' Was all Nick could think. He shook his head realizing that he had been staring for a while and Judy was now trying to track whatever he was looking at.

"I-I'm fine" he said quickly grabbing her arms to get his attention back to him.

"I… just wanted some private time with my favorite bunny" he said pulling her in close. Nick could feel the heat coming off of her.

"Well gee if you wanted to be alone with me so much then you should have just asked" she said, her voice muffled by Nicks.

"Yeah I guess I'm just shy." Nick said trying to ignore the fear ebbing away at his mind. Judy pulled away and looked up even more shy,

"The Nick Wilde, being shy are you sure you're ok?" She asked again. The fox couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that, 'only she would notice something like that'.

"Yeah I- I guess it- you're just the first real relationship I've ever had sooo" That wasn't a complete lie, Nick did have other relationships in the past but they weren't anything as serious as this.

"Awe Nick that's really cute now I see why you're so shy, it's okay you are my first too"

Now it was Nick's turn to be surprised, "really a fetching bunny like yourself has never been in a relationship?"

Now it was Judy's turn to feel shy, she could feel her ears heat up. "Now I know I'm being a stereotypical fox making a stereotypical assumption of a bunny, but don't bunnies you know…"

Nick then pointed one finger and then made a whole with his other hand trying to demonstrate.

"Yes we are good at multiplying now quit being a child" Judy said punching Nick in the arm playfully. Nick was now laughing whole heartedly, and of course right on time the bell rang.

The two separated and left for their classes, of course Nick went to his first class with Mrs. Rollae, sat in the same seat next to Wolford, except something was new now. The other students around him weren't looking at him with hate, they were looking at him with respect instead.

All the attention was making Nick feel uncomfortable, he was the kind of guy that liked to stay under the radar and this was definitely not working for him.

"Hey Wolfie, why are they all looking at me?" Nick asked leaning over to whisper to his friend.

Wolford looked confused for a second before realizing why the fox was reacting.

"Oh its becau-"

"Good Morning class!" Mrs. Roleo screamed extremely loud scaring a majority of the class and interrupting Wolford.

The wolf had to lean in now so that they wouldn't get caught like last time.

"It's because of your battle in the arena yesterday, you really impressed a lot of mammals here Nick" He whispered patting Nick on the back.

"Really" Nick was shocked that anyone was actually paying attention to the event considering how long it had been going for before they even got in there.

"Yeah and I don't mean to alarm you or anything but you have this feeling that mammals get when they are around you, you really attract attention somehow" Wolford continued. Nick already knew this because of Judy but wanted to act confused just so people didn't think anything was happening to him.

"I had no idea" Nick.

"Excuse me" came a voice from the front of the classroom. The two looked to the front as well as the rest of the class to see Mrs. Rollae standing there tapping her foot.

"Thank you, now we continue with our discussion of…" The class went on smoothly from there, Nick feeling a bit better now that he wasn't the target of everyone's hatred. And soon enough the bell rang signaling the end of the period. As soon as Nick stood up a tiger stepped towards him blocking his path out of the class room.

"Hey fox, I saw what you did yesterday in the arena, it was pretty impressive. You know even if you don't have powers you got some good things going for you" the tiger said reaching out his paw, Nick took his paw shaking it.

"I appreciate it Fangmeyer that really means a lot" Nick said. The tiger seemed shocked that he knew his name. It had been years since the two had last talked, and its not like they were friends or anything.

"Um yeah, sure thing. You know we can use someone like you on the competitive arena team" Fangmeyer said.

"What?" Nick knew there were sports teams at Sky High but he hadn't ever heard of competitive arena.

"It's the same thing that was in the arena you did yesterday except there are teams that do it and compete with different objectives. You and your partner could make a pretty good team."

"Ok sorry for the twenty questions but what partner are you talking about." Nick hadn't shared his relationship with Judy and he knew she didn't either.

"Oh that finnick fox, isn't he your friend?"

"What no, we were just teamed up at random" Nick said with a breath of relief, 'wait he thinks just because finnick is a fox that he is my friend, very interesting' Nick thought.

"Oh well, you two worked well together, you should think about joining."

"Yeah maybe, I gotta get going though I will look into it later" Nick said pushing past the tiger and out into the hallway.

The hallway was much calmer than normal because of how long he talked to Fangmeyer, he quickly went to his locker before heading to his next class. The classes went on until finally the bell rang signaling for lunch to start. Nick didn't want to seem like he was in a rush even though he very much was, he wanted to be sure he could see his bunny. He walked through the halls at a slightly quicker pace than normal and made it to the lunch room in record time. The sight of Judy sitting alone at the lunch table made him release a breath he didn't know he was holding. 'Why am I so nervous, she can easily take care of herself' he thought to himself.

"Wow Mr. Popular decided to sit with the meek little rabbit at lunch, I feel blessed" she said with a teasing face when she saw him.

"Ugh so I guess you've heard about that too" Nick said taking a seat next to her. The fox could sense the eyes of other mammals on the pair, he wanted nothing more than to grab the bunny and run to a place where they could enjoy just being with each other. The sound of footsteps approaching shook him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Wolford walking up,

"Hey Judy, Hey Nick" He said taking a seat across from the pair. The table they sat at had a total of eight seats, three of them being full with the mammals sitting there. A large cheetah approached the table, Nick noticed him easily. As soon as his eyes locked with the cheetah he could see the large mammal flinch. 'Oh great here we go' he thought.

"Uh, hi could I possibly sit with you guys? There's not really much room for me anywhere else" he asked.

Nick was about to say no when Judy spoke up before him, "Yes of course there's plenty of room here", he looked over at Judy with a pouting face on. She grabbed his paw creating a link,

'Be nice and I'll be nice to you, he clearly needs a place to sit' she thought. Nick smirked at her,

"Yeah, sure that shouldn't be a problem" Nick said

"Thank you so much" the cheetah said taking one of the open seats, "my name is Benjamin Clawhauser"

"I'm Judy Hopps"

"Just call me Wolford"

"And I'm Nick Wilde" they all introduced themselves. The cheetah looked around at the group with a smile on his face,

"Nick, oh sorry can I call you Nick?" The cheetah asked as if he had just sinned.

"Uh yeah that is my name" Nick responded, "look I don't know what everyone is talking about but I'm just a normal fox, this aura coming off of me it's nothing, I promise"

The cheetah sighed with relief, "oh thank goodness, I thought I was going crazy. But that's incredible that you don't have any powers but you still seem like one of the most powerful mammals I've ever seen. Not to mention the display you put on yesterday with that fennec fox was quite impressive"

"Thanks, but I really just want to be treated as normal because that's what I am okay?" Nick said starting to get flustered.

Everyone could feel the energy coming off the fox intensify as he got upset, Judy could start to feel it too and noticed that lots of others were starting to turn meaning that they could feel it too. She reached out and put her paw onto his leg, out of view of anyone around them, but Nick could feel it.

'You need to relax' was all that he had heard in his head. Nick closed his eyes taking a deep breath, he could sense all the eyes on him again. 'This is the worst' he said in his head.

'It's alright I'm here for you Nick' she said back to him.

He opened his eyes and looked over at Clawhauser who looked more than a little stressed.

"Sorry, I'm not used to the whole 'being famous' thing" Nick said trying his hardest to bring in his powers under his control.

"It's okay, I know I'm probably not helping" Clawhauser said. Nick could feel the eyes begin to turn away as everyone returned to their own business.

"No really its okay I'm just having a rough day" Nick said. The rest of lunch seemed to crawl by as Judy would try to start a conversation with the cheetah which would end in awkward silence. Nick felt bad, he didn't mean to go off on the cheetah like he did but the stress of all that was happening to him was just weighing down on him. Finally the bell rang calling for the end of lunch, Nick wanted nothing more than this day to be over but sadly he had more classes.

The rest of the classes went on similar to how the others did, people would look at him and he would get annoyed. There was no way of hiding because most of the mammals were bigger than him. Eventually the last class ended and they were finally sent home. Nick and Judy stuck together until they were finally at her apartment. As soon as they were inside Nick collapsed on the bed.

"Why did this have to happen to me?" Nick said out loud, "I probably seem like a pouty baby for hating all this attention but I'm just not used to it." Judy sat down on the bed scooting up to Nicks head and putting it in her lap, once she was comfortable she started to rub his head.

"It's ok Nick I know you're not one for getting attention, but you didn't have to go off on Clawhauser like you did" she said stroking the top of his head, the feeling of her soft paw on his head made Nick relax even more into the bed. He let out a deep sigh letting all the day escape his mind,

"Yeah you're right I shouldn't have but I just couldn't control myself at that point, controlling all of this is honestly the hardest part of this whole thing" Nick said

Judy sat in thought for a bit looking at Nicks face, "When I first got my powers, well first off my parents were really confused because of how rare it is for a prey of my size to have powers, but when I first got them I couldn't really control them either" Judy chuckled as a memory flashed through her head, "this one time I controlled one of my brothers to steal a slice of blueberry pie"

Nick opened his eyes and looked up at her, "Wait, you're telling me that the super bunny Judy Hopps stole something?" He said in a teasing voice.

"Har har very funny, but yes and it was when I was 7. Anyways the point I'm trying to make is that it takes time to learn the control over your powers, kids have to learn it but now you have to as well."

"Great so I'm the level of kids hmm?" Nick said sarcastically

"Yes and they are taught by their parents, but you get me"

Nick once again looked up and smirked, "boy then I guess I'm lucky compared to all those kids"

"Yes very lucky"

Before she could even react Nick flipped up and grabbed Judy by the arms holding her down on the bed, "hmm and I seem to have myself a rabbit here so lets see just how lucky I am" he said bringing his face as close as possible so that their muzzles were almost touching. Nick could feel the heat coming off her face, and after a bit more waiting he went in for the kill, he smashed their lips together in a passionate kiss. Judy clutched onto Nick chest as he rolled over onto his back taking her with him. She straddled his legs around his waist. The kiss went on while Nick slid his hand down Judy's back until he hit her tail causing her to jump up with a squeak. Nick looked at her confused and then looked at his hand as if he had just shocked her.

"Sorry my tail is just really sensitive" she said. Nick stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. Eventually Judy joined in on the laughter. Judy leaned in and started laughing into Nicks side while he started to have tears come out of his eyes because he was laughing so hard.

They're laughter continued as if there was not a care in the world, but what they didn't know is that they were being watched, there were eyes on them consistently yet they never knew. A certain masked mammal watched them waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Scrat", the Magnum Mortus called out to their assistant.

"Yes Magnum?" Scrat said waiting at her side like normal,

"Tell our friends that the package is ready for pick up" the masked figure said turning to look at the small mammal,

"Of course" Scrat ran off leaving Magnum alone to continue watching the one mammal they needed.

'Soon Nick, Soon'

Boy was that a chapter, I know months of waiting for that, sheesh this blows. I'm sorry this part of the story was already lulling in my head and I just sort of wrote what I thought. I promise you the story is gonna start picking up soon. Anyways how are you all doing? I hope everyone is doing well in these scary times with the whole COVID-19 thing going on. I should have a lot more time to write considering all my classes have gone remote and I'm gonna be staying at home for the next 5 months. I know we are all out there searching for stuff to do or anything to read or watch. I personally have been reading a lot of stories, I just finished _The Growler Incident_ which is a fantastic story that I do recommend. But I will try to be updating this story much more consistently so that any of you who really want to enjoy this story has the ability to at this time when entertainment is as important as toilet paper. Now stay safe, relax, and wash your hands!


	16. Chapter 15: Who Knows?

The school year after that rough day flew by, Magnus Mortem never contacted Nick over the next three months, and Nicks popularity seemed to simmer down once he convinced everyone he was just a normal fox. The savannah central climate shifted to much colder weather now that the winter began to roll in. Thanksgiving came and went, Judy went home for the break, (Nick was upset but understood why she had to leave, she also promised she would ask if Nick could come over for some of the winter break). And now all everyone worried about was getting a date to the winter dance which at this point was a week away. It didn't normally snow in Savannah Central because of Zootopia's weather system, but Sky High being so high up in the air it got cold enough for it to snow, so now the grey, white, and blue school was covered in a fresh layer of the cold white powder.

Clawhauser had become quick friends of Judy, Nick liked the cheetah but he was still a little wary of how he acted around him. Nick also noticed one thing, a lot of mammals liked to pick on the portly cheetah, and they tended to throw the rest of them into it as well. Nick didn't mind it, he grew up being bullied for being a fox. Clawhauser ignored it for the most part as well, but Judy wasn't. She was taking Nicks advice of 'don't let them see that they get to you' but eventually some of the things would get to her. It was slight things that Nick could notice, the flick of her ears or a fit clenching. Nick could take it and he was okay with it, but as soon as you mess with someone that Nick cares about deeply, well lets just say he wasn't the happiest mammal. He hadn't done anything yet but he was just waiting for one of the mammals to step too far, then he would have to step in.

—

It was a rather a rather snowy Monday for the group, lunch was going on as it normally did. Nick wasn't really paying attention to the conversation but he heard something about the singer Gazelle, he noticed quickly the paw steps approaching, 'oh boy here we go' Nick thought. He didn't even have to turn to know who was coming up, he saw a big paw slam down on the table startling both Judy and and Clawhauser.

"Ooh someone's a bit of a jumpy cat hmm?" The mammal was a large polar bear named Koslov, who had a thick Russian accent, he walked around with a little pack of larger mammals. It made the pack that beat Nick up look like a small herd of prey, and it also made the small group at the lunch table look like a group of mice except for Wolford who was almost as tall as the bear. There were four mammals total in this group, Koslov, a dark gray Timberwolf named Adam Howlson, a Lion named Diego Delgato, and a dark Leopard only known as Manchas.

"Well let's see what were eating here today boys, hmm the fat cheetah eating more donuts. And the rabbit here, oh big surprise rabbit food." Koslov said going around messing with everyone's food.

"Hey Koslov you know what I find surprising, out of everyday we've been at this table I don't think I've ever seen this fox eat." Diego said. It was true, Nick just chose not to eat during lunch, but didn't let say anything or react, he just kept looking at his phone and hope that they would just leave soon.

"Yeah I think you're right Diego. What's the matter fox? I don't know if you've noticed but there's a whole meal at this table just waiting for you" Koslov said leaning down to look right at Nick. He then grabbed Nicks phone sliding it across the table.

"You better pay attention when I'm talking to you, or are you deaf hmm?" Now Nick was glaring directly at the polar bear, trying to keep control of his powers even though the anger in him was becoming almost too much.

"Great now that I have your attention, I want you to answer me, why don't you eat?" Koslov said. Nick didn't respond, just stared at the polar bears dark brown eyes.

"Hmm so he must be mute too" the wolf behind Koslov said.

"Man what a shame, a mute and deaf fox. Well I will continue asking questions anyways. Hey Manchas what did foxes used to eat back in our primal days?" The polar bear asked,

"Hmm I do think that they used to eat rabbits" the leopard answered with a smile.

Koslov's face suddenly twisted into mock surprise, "Really, I had no idea. And would you look at that there's one right next to you buddy". Nick was slipping, he could feel his control going but at this point he didn't mind it. 'They're really thinking that I would something that stupid' he thought to himself. Unknown to Nick a growl was starting to grow from inside of him, but everyone around him could hear including Koslov. The polar bear could also feel the amount fo energy growing off the fox, but it didn't phase him. Yet.

"So fox, since you never eat why don't you just take a bite" He said. 'I will never hurt her, Don't let them see that they get to you' Nick thought closing his eyes and turning his head down to the table, it was becoming harder to breath as his mind started to blank out and his breathing became ragged 'just control yourself' he thought. His mind flashed images of his nightmare in which he was hurting innocent mammals

And Judy…

"Hey why don't you just leave us alone" Everyone looked over at the rabbit who just spoke up. Judy was now standing on her seat trying to make herself look as big as possible.

"Oh boys look at that, the snack decided to speak up" Koslov said moving away from Nick and towards her. "That's awfully brave of you, such a meek little prey standing up against a bunch of blood thirsty predators" Koslov got right in her face, but to Judy's credit she didn't back down at all.

"Why don't you just go back to the carrot farm where you belong" Koslov said, "there is no way someone of your size could take down a mammal like me or anyone else here for that matter"

Judy didn't even flinch as the polar bear spat in her face, "why don't you try me" Judy said in response.

"Pssh" was all that Koslov said as he lifted his paw up, flicking Judy in the nose. The flick wasn't hard but it was enough energy to knock Judy off her seat. If you blinked you would have missed it, but right as Judy fell something orange flashed by and suddenly Nick was holding Judy up. Everyone was speechless, including Nick but he was speechless for a different reason. The energy emanating off of him was enough to make the polar bear step back. The sight in front of Koslov actually made him scared, the fox was standing there fangs drawn, his eyes were nothing but two vertical slits, his hackles raised as if he was about to attack.

Nick set Judy down as carefully as he could, and then stepped up to the polar bear who was still just sitting there in awe. The fox reached up as with his strength, grabbed the bear by the collar bringing him down so that Nick could speak right in his ear.

"If you ever set a paw on that rabbit or anyone at that table again, I will personally take each of your fingers and peel them like bananas and feed them to the monkeys here, I'm sure they would appreciate it. I know what you're thinking, 'why should I be afraid of a fox?' Well you should be afraid because right now I don't see a polar bear, I see a small little stuffed animal that I would love to just chew up and spit out do you understand?" Nick said just loud enough for Koslov to hear, after awhile of no response Nick shook the bear a little, "Do you understand?" The polar bear finally woke up from his shock and nodded.

"Excellent" he said patting the polar bear on the chest. He then let go and stepped back putting his paws behind his back and reigning in on his powers. And just to top it off he put his classic smirk back on, it was an impressive mask but anyone who knew him well could see that he was struggling at that moment. The polar bear finally snapped out of his trance regained his composure, signaling to his friends to move out. The whole group left quickly, each one of them surprised by the fact that their brave leader got so scared by a red fox. They could all feel the power but didn't think it was that bad.

Now that the big group had left Nick noticed once again that all eyes were on him, he looked back at his own table to see both Wolford and Clawhauser with their jaws hanging open. Nicks mask was cracking as he quickly took off out of the cafeteria to get away from everyone's stare. Gradually the silence ebbed as people started whispering amongst themselves.

"Did you see that?"

"I thought he said he didn't have any powers"

"He really just scared the pants off of big bad Koslov"

"That was impressive"

"Did anyone else feel that energy coming off of him?"

Judy got up from her seat and walked inconspicuously out after her fox, leaving Wolford and Clawhauser with their jaws still hanging open.

—

Judy walked through the halls feeling for Nicks power coming from anywhere. When she walked the janitors closet she felt the energy spike. She approached the door feeling safe as she walked up. The opened the door carefully, the lights were off but Judy could see the reflection of two eyes looking directly at her.

"Nick?" Judy asked calmly.

The fox sighed, "Hey Carrots" he responded. He sounded upset, 'he just stood up for me why is he upset'.

"What's the matter Nick?" She asked walking in, the sight in front of her made her feel afraid but the overwhelming sense of safety in the room kept pushing her forward. Also she knew that Nick would never hurt her. Nick was sitting in the corner of the room his fur sticking up in certain places and his eyes were narrow slits again.

"Nothing I just surprised myself a little" He said turning away from her. She took a step closer and Nick turned, "Stop… please I don't know if I have control yet". She may have stopped for a second but then started coming forward slowly. Nick could tell without looking that she was still coming closer, and each step closer he growled a little louder until finally she was next to him. She reached out her paw and rest it on his arm, this caused him to turn and snarl at her. Judy didn't flinch again and started to hug his arm,

"Nick its okay, the threat is gone, you showed them not to mess with us. I'm proud of you Nick, I'm proud and I love you so much."

Nicks growling slowly lessened as his breathing slowed and his fur lay flat. They sat there for a minute while Nick continued to calm down in silence, the only noise being their breathing.

Nick was the first to break the silence,

"You remember that nightmare I told you about that I kept having awhile ago?" He asked calmly. Judy only nodded in response.

"Well in that instance where he was antagonizing me about… about…" he trailed off, he couldn't even bring himself to say it.

"Eating me?" Judy said

"Yeah uh that, but in that instance right before you stepped in, I felt that feeling that was identical to the one I felt in my dream, like I wasn't in control. But when he hit you all of my focus went to that so something happened and I got it all back and it felt insane. that wasn't me moving… it was like this sixth sense that automatically made me move like that. And… the worst part is, it felt good."

There was another moment of silence as Nicks words set in. "Nick listen to me, that dream is just a dream, that does not reflect what you really are. I know you, you will never hurt anyone unless they truly deserve it. And if it felt good then embrace, as long as you know what is good verses what is bad then you can easily control it."

"But"

"No buts, I believe in you okay? I think you can do it and that's what matters got it?" Nick didn't respond, he simply looked at the wall. Judy jostled him, "got it?"

Nick smiled, "Ha, yeah I got it"

"Good, now lets go the bells gonna ring soon and we need to get back there" she said standing up, holding out her paw to pick him up. Nick reached out and took her paw, Judy had to pull very hard to get Nick up and once he was up he pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you Judy" He said.

The pair left the closet and made their way back to the cafeteria, the halls were still empty but soon they will be full of students heading to their next class.

"Wait do you think anyone was really paying attention and knows I have powers now?" Nick asked,

"I don't think so, and when did get the ability to go that fast?" She asked back

"Uh I don't know it kind of just happened, I honestly didn't even know I had it"

"How many powers do you actually have?"

"I really don't know, maybe three or four"

Judy looked up at him confused, "You don't know how many powers you have?"

"I just have never thought to really check out how many I have" Nick said shrugging.

"Alright well I think it would be good to find out" Something about him using his powers made him uncomfortable, and that's feeling was evident on his face, so Judy grabbed his paw,

"Don't worry I will set up everything up all you have to do is show up" she reassured him. They made their way back to the cafeteria just before the bell rang. Luckily no one seemed to notice their return and they went onto their next classes.

—-

The rest of the day went by smoothly. No one questioned whether Nick had powers, or at least no one voiced their questions to him. He decided to not go to Judy's today and opted to instead go back to his house which was now rebuilt almost entirely so there was no more any need to hide down in the cave. Nick opened the door to see his parents relaxing in their new chairs,

"Hey champ how'd the day go?" His dad asked peeking over his news paper.

"Pretty good I guess" Nick said heading towards his room.

"Nick sweety" his mom spoke up, "why didn't you tell us that you got selected as a hero in school?" She asked.

"Oh that was months ago, sorry I guess it just slipped my mind" he said.

"Nick do you have powers and aren't telling us?" His dad asked getting serious.

"What no, I promise the day I get powers I will tell you, and as far as getting selected as hero maybe the polar bear felt sympathy for me and wanted to give me a chance who knows." He said shrugging,

"Well we are proud of you" his mom said,

"Yeah and we wanted to celebrate so were taking you out to dinner tonight" his dad said.

"Cool just give a bit to go drop my stuff and then we can head out." Nick said opening the door to his room.

"Oh yeah and you can invite your friend Judy if you want" his dad said. They couldn't see it but Nick smiled at that,

"Uh yeah I will ask her" he said closing the door. Dropping his bag he took out his phone and dialed her number.

"Hey Nick whats up?" She picked up,

"Nothing much other than my parents found out that I made hero in school" Nick said a little panicked, he wasn't worried but the thought that they found something out like that makes him a little nervous.

"How? That was months ago, do you know when they found out" She asked,

"I have no idea, I just walked in and they asked me about it. The good news is they are taking me out to dinner and said I can bring you too"

"Oh, wait so are you asking me on a date Nick?" Nick could tell she was trying to be funny,

"I guess if you think dinner with me and my parents as a date" he said back to her. She laughed over the phone,

"Well I'll be with you so that's what matters" she said, now it was Nicks turn to laugh 'wow that was really cute' he thought.

Nick changed into a red shirt and black slacks before leaving his room. His parents were also dressed fancy, his mom in a nice dress and his dad in a suit. They made their way to Judy's apartment where she was waiting outside in a black sundress with sunflowers on it. Nick could barely keep his jaw closed when he saw Judy. The pair still had no idea where they were going as they drove through a fancier part of Savannah Central. Finally they pulled to a restaurant called Chez Mammal.

The restaurant was fancy, very fancy. The group walked in and were greeted by an elephant in a white tuxedo.

"Ah bonjour and welcome to Chez Mammal, do you have a reservation?" Edward stepped up to the hostess podium,

"Wilde party of four" he said

"Yes Mr. Wilde, right this way monsieur" they were lead back to a large table, and right when they sat down the questioning began,

"So Judy, how do you think Nick got assigned hero in school?" Amelia asked

"Uuuuh" Judy looked at Nick who made a signal for her to create a link.

'Say that you have no idea' he thought to her.

"I have no idea" she said

'tell them I've been doing all the work I need to and that I'm preparing myself when my powers show up'

"I mean he's been doing all his work preparing himself for when he gets his powers, so maybe they saw that work ethic in him"

'Nicely done'

"Nicely done" Judy instantly regretted saying that, Nick simply put his paw to his face. Luckily, his parents didn't seem to notice and accepted Judy's answer.

"Well that's good to hear, when we went through that course it was a lot of work and we had our powers but I'm proud you're pushing through it even without them Nick!" Edward said with a smile on his face.

The rest of the dinner went swimmingly, Nick ordered a play of synthetic chicken parmesan, Judy ordered a salad, and Nicks parents ordered a large platter of spaghetti and synthetic meatballs. The food was great and because they were eating the conversation was very minimal if there was any. Eventually they finished payed the check and left. When they arrived at Judy's house it was a struggle for Nick not to lean over and kiss her. But he withheld himself and simply waved her off,

"Nick if you want you can stay here for a little and walk back" His mom said with a knowing smile on her face. Nick sat there for a moment contemplating how his parents seemed to know everything without telling him that they knew.

"Yeah I guess I'll do that" he said unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. "Hey Fluff wait up" he yelled running up to the door just as Judy was going in. She looked back at him confused, and she got even more confused when she saw the worried look on his face. Nick waved to his parents who waved back before driving off.

"What happened?" Judy asked, Nick pushed his way in and started pacing around the room.

"How do they know?" He said ignoring Judy,

"Nick?" She asked again.

"I've never told them, its been months how would they just now know?"

"NICK!" Judy screamed. Her voice finally caught Nicks attention who stopped pacing and looked over at his bunny. "What is going on? You've been like this the whole dinner, and before you say anything I can read you like a book whether you like it or not. So now stop pacing, breath, and tell me whats going on"

The room was silent for a moment while Nick closed his eyes and breathed. "I think my parents know just about everything." The room was filled with silence while Judy thought about what he said,

"Okay well what is everything" She asked.

"Well, they know about me being a hero in school, I think they know that I might have powers, and I think they about us" once again the room was full of silence. Judy's face didn't change, she didn't seem phased at all.

"They probably know you're a hero because of like a parent teacher conference that we didn't know about, I doubt they know that you have powers you've been doing good at keeping that a secret, and so what if they know about our relationship its been like five months I'm okay with everyone knowing… are you not?" Judy's ears folded behind her head, her voice turned to pleading as she looked Nick directly in the eyes.

Nick could sense her sadness growing and quickly kneeled down in front of her putting his paw on her face which she nuzzled into. "Judy" she opened her eyes at the use of her real name, something Nick rarely does. Like getting called by your full name by your parents, except instead of fear she felt comfort. "Of course I'm okay with everyone knowing, its just that inter species relationships are already uncommon, pred and prey relationships are even more rare. I just wanted to be sure that you were okay with what might come from this" he said

"What do you mean?" She asked

Nick paused for a moment not wanting to giver her any ideas, he really loved her and didn't want to lose her. "Well, as soon as this goes public we are going to get a lot of attention, I'm used to it being a fox and all but other mammals are gonna ridicule you even more than now. I just want to be sure that you're ready for this."

Once again the room filled with silence, Judy leaned in and placed her forehead on Nicks, "listen to me Nick, I love you. What some other mammals have to say doesn't matter to me I want you and if being ridiculed is a part of it then sign me up" She said confidently. Judy opened her eyes to see Nick staring directly at her, the sight of his emerald eyes so close to her caused a shiver to run down her spine. Judy was glad to see the nervousness leave his eyes and was replaced by happiness.

"Well gosh Carrots I just took you out for dinner and you said you want to have me, well I'm ready" he said with a smirk.

"What the. Wh… I didn't…" She said flustered. Nick pulled back laughing falling onto his back, Judy stood looking at him angrily before jumping on top of him and hitting him playfully. Eventually Nicks laughter died down and Judy got tired of punching him, Judy lay across his chest with Nicks arms wrapped around her. They lay there for awhile just enjoying the warmth of each other. Nicks mind wandered to how he got here, he was at one point a hustling fox who was okay with being labeled by society and would never live up to the level of his parents, but now he was a fox who had the powers to live on his parents legacy he now just had to figure out how to tell them. 'And its all because of the mammal laying on my chest right now' he thought to himself.

Their wonderful night was ended by the sound of Nicks phone ringing, he groaned reaching into his pocket pulling out his phone. He looked at the caller ID to see an unknown number,

"Hello" he said after hitting the answer button.

"Hello Nick" the voice was enough to make his blood run cold, "So nice to hear your voice after all this time. Don't react abnormally to anything I'm gonna say to you, just refer to me as Mother right now or a certain bunny you are getting cuddly with will become a stain on the wall" Magnus Mortem said.

"Y-Yes mother I understand" Nick said, his stutter caused Judy to look up at him,

"Ah ah ah, don't stutter to much, speak naturally like you would with your own mother" they said

Nick had to work hard to calm himself down, "Yeah yeah mom I get it"

"Excellent, now its almost time for you to come into work. I'm not gonna tell you what you are doing until it is time to do it, I'm going to send you a location soon and tomorrow night you are going to go there where we will discuss, understand?"

"Mmhm" Nick responded.

"Excellent, well enjoy your night I will see you tomorrow" the line then went dead.

Nick took his phone and put it back in his pocket. Judy was still looking at him confused.

"That was my mom, she's upset about the fact that I've been here for so long so now I gotta get back home"

"Okay I get it, it is pretty late" Judy said getting off of his chest. Nick sat up and grabbed Judy pulling her into a kiss. The kiss was brief but conveyed a longing that Judy noticed, they finally separated and Nick stood up and went towards the door.

"Nick" Judy called just before he left,

"Yeah Carrots?" He said

"You trust me right?" She asked, Nick flinched slightly, not enough for Judy to notice.

"Oh course Judy, I trust you with my life"

And with that Nick left, starting his long walk home.

Unknown to him as soon as he stuttered on the phone she created a link with him and heard who he was talking to, she also heard every bit that they said to him.

"Oh Nick what have you done?"

—

Wow that was a lot smoother to right than the last one, maybe because I wrote it in three days (a new record) I told you things were gonna start picking up eventually, well here we go. I really hope you enjoyed that chapter as it was a real joy to write. Hopefully you are all staying safe out there, shit is really starting to hit the fan and people are still going outside and hanging out, that's absolutely bonkers, there's a virus out there. Meanwhile I've been doing online school work and playing lots of video games. And of course writing this story. Once again I appreciate you all talking the time to read this and I hope you do enjoy and I will talk to y'all next chapter to give you a little update on the situation. Go wash your hands and stay inside!


	17. Chapter 16: Catch and Release

The night was cold and very windy, no one bothered to be out at this time except for very few mammals most of which were dressed in heavy clothes. One mammal in particular was walking with haste, but because of how late it was no one bothered stop them. This mammal took their corners very sharp as if they knew exactly where they were going. He wasn't a large mammal, if someone really looked they would think he was just a kid which in reality he wasn't far from it. He had only just turned seventeen a month ago, but now he was walking alone in the cold to a destination only he knew. The skyscrapers towered over him making him look even smaller then he actually was. Other than the street lights the only thing that could allow someone walking by to see any features was the phone he was holding. The hood he was wearing was to keep him warm but to also hide his face, of course his muzzle could still be seen as it stuck out the front of the hood. Eventually he came to a stop in front of a man hole cover, using his strength he picked it up and pushed it aside with ease. The entrance to the sewer was dark but thanks to the mammals natural night vision he could see the ladder that would take him to the bottom. He took one last look at his phone memorizing the directions before putting it in his pocket. "Well here goes nothing" they said before dropping down into the hole. The last thing anyone on the surface would see is a paw reaching out grabbing the lid and putting on leaving a slight crack in case he needed a quick escape.

The darkness enveloped him as did the smell. Being a pred didn't help either as his sense of smell was stronger then some mammals and his increased senses didn't help either. He had to try really hard to keep himself from gagging. He took his hood off and wrapped it around his snout revealing the green eyes of a certain Nick Wilde. He looked around waiting for his eyes to adjust, once he could see he started his walk. 'Left, Right, Left, and then another left easy enough' he thought. The sewers of Zootopia weren't necessarily the worst part of the city, but plenty of homeless people and criminals hide down there. That's why when Nick heard something something fall behind him he spun quickly, snarling hoping to scare off whatever it was. When nothing moved he turned and continued walking. After walking for about thirty more minutes with no more disturbances he made it to his exit. He climbed up the ladder and pushed against the sewer cover, when it didn't budge he let go of some of his powers and lifted the lid off. Snow quickly dropped on Nick surprising him so he almost fell down the ladder. Luckily he didn't fall and lifted himself out of the sewer. The first thing that hit him was how extremely cold it was, the next thing to hit him was the light snow that was falling from the sky. "Tundra Town, had to be Tundra Town" he said to himself as he continued walking towards his destination.

He continued to walk until his directions told him to take a turn down the next alley. What he was not expecting was a dart to shoot him out of no where. He could feel the affects of it almost instantly as his legs gave out on him, instead of hitting the ground he fell into the arms of a much larger mammal who dragged him deeper into the alley. The last thing he remembered was being tossed into the back of a large van before blacking out.

Nick woke up to the feeling of pure cold as he was splashed in the face with water. "Holy moly Mickey Mouse, what the hell was that" he screamed as he shivered intensely, the room around him was dark and it was hard to adjust because of the tranquilizer that was still running through his system.

"Good morning sleeping beauty" came a voice from the dark, Nick chuckled to hide to fear that Magnus's voice gave him,

"Always great to hear your voice" he said. He could feel that he was bound to a chair and because of the tranquilizer he couldn't really get a good grasp on his powers, so he didn't even bother trying to move. There were more figures moving in the darkness, some big, some small. One eventually stepped forward and a spotlight was lit up on the figure revealing Magnus Mortem standing in front of Nick.

"I'm so glad to see you Nick, I was beginning to think you forgot about our little bargain" they said walking around the tied up fox.

"Oh how could forget something that happened months ago" Nick said, he had prepared himself for seeing them again and working on hiding his fear.

"Good, a sense of humor is good to have Nick, I sincerely hope you still have it after all of this is over" they said menacingly.

Nick didn't say anything after that, he simply waited for them to continue their speech. If there was one thing he had taken away from his first semester in school it was to let the villain talk to get as much information as possible.

"Now that you've decided to stay quiet let me begin to explain to you what it is that you will be doing" they said stepping out in front of Nick once more. The sound of movement made Nick perk up as he saw another large rhino move out of the darkness holding a metal folding chair. The rhino set it out just behind Magnus and stepped around to stand next to Nick.

"Your school, Sky High, as you may know produces a majority of not only Zootopia but the worlds super heroes" they said, sitting down and crossing their legs,

"Hmm yeah that's sounds familiar", Nick said. When he had finished talking Magnus snapped and the rhino next to him pulled out a rod and jabbed it into Nicks neck. Electricity surged through Nicks body causing him to yelp in pain,

"Ahhhh! Stop stop please" He begged. After what felt like an eternity the rhino pulled away leaving the fox gasping for breath.

"Speak up again, and I will double the amount of time he shocks you, got it?" The masked figure said with venom.

"Yeah I got it" Nick said trying to collect himself,

"Excellent, now I hear your school is having a dance next week, is that correct?" They asked,

"Yes" Nick said not wanting to get shocked again.

"Well at this dance a majority of the school will be there, and I would like to take away the powers of all of them, with your help." Magnus held out their hand and a hologram projection came out above her hand, "this is what you will bring to the dance next week, it will look like just an ordinary box but inside will be a device that releases a gas" all of this was being displayed on the hologram the held a liquid and had tubes that came out of the sides, "this gas is something I personally have been working on for a very long time. Would you like to see what it does?" They asked,

"I'm guessing I don't have a choice" Nick said, flinching when he saw the rhino lean in. What he was not expecting was for his restraints to be cut. He opened his eyes to see the rhino holding a knife,

"I want to show you that I trust our little relationship, also if you step out of line I will have my friend Raul here show you the electric rod again, now follow me" Magnus commanded turning and walking away. Nick followed behind her and the rhino stayed right by Nicks side, they were led out of the large room and down a corridor that had very few lights and large mammals on guard every few feet. The group made their way through the compound until finally reaching a door that had two wolves standing on either side. Magnus put their hand onto a scanner causing the door to unlock and open. It was dark in this room, Nick was feeling much better after walking but his vision still was having a hard time adjusting. The lights flipped on so fast that Nick let out a startled yelp as he was blinded. He slowly opened them to see that the light was coming from twelve pens, six on either side.

'What the hell is this?' Nick thought. His breath was caught in his throat when he saw mammals in the pens. There were mammals of all shapes and sizes from a grown tiger to a small rat. 'These are prisoners', they were all starved with their ribs showing, their faces showed nothing but pain and sadness. Not even the appearance of their group caught any attention. Magnus lead them up to a pen that held a skinny otter that looked like he was on the brink of death, the otter looked over and fear filled his face when he saw who was standing outside his holding cell. Nick then noticed a new mammal enter the room, it was a very large elephant, but Magnus clearing their throat brought his attention back to the otter.

"These pens are strong enough so that no mammal can escape them. They were specifically designed so that mammals with super powers can't escape. Now here we have Emmet Otterton a middle aged otter who has had his powers for about forty-five years, but today we will take them from him forever"

"WHAT?" Nick screamed, certain mammals have had powers for centuries and never has there ever been a way to remove them.

"This gas I have been developing has the ability to take mammals with extraordinary abilities and strip them of what makes them special so that they are no more special than the average citizen" Magnus stepped up to the cell and tapped on the glass, "Mr. Otterton can you do me a favor and demonstrate your powers?"

The otter simply looked at Magnus with determination as he shook his head. Magnus growled in response, looking over to Raul who was standing just behind Nick. The rhino grunted in response took out his rod and opened a hatch on the glass door allowing him to reach in with his electric rod and shock the otter. Nick looked away as the otter spazzed on the ground, once the rhino took the rod off him and closed the hatch, Otterton slowly stood up and held out his paw. The otter put all of his focus onto his paw, Nick looked but couldn't see anything happening until a green stem started to sprout out of his hand, it continued to grow until a fully grown flower was in his hand.

"As you can see Mr. Otterton here has the power to grow any plant from his body, this could allow him to grow vines or whole trees from his body" Magnus said. A door then opened on the other end of the hall and a small badger in a lab coat walked in.

"Is it ready?" Magnus asked, the doctor nodded in response,

"Yes the newest and final test batch is ready for its trial run" the badger said.

"Excellent, now Nick, what is about to happen to Mr. Otterton here will happen to everyone in that cafeteria next week" a purple gas started to fill the room, the otter inside didn't notice until it was too late. The second he breathed in he let out a large cough, he continued to cough as he fell to the ground. He then began to convulse uncontrollably, his body contorting and turning in dangerous ways. Nick could only watch in horror as the otter continued to jerk around until the gas gradually dissipated. Once all the gas had been breathed in the only thing left the otter who was lying on the ground breathing deeply trying to catch his breath.

"Mr. Otterton please try to demonstrate your powers again" Magnus said. The otter gradually sat up and held out his paw again, putting all his focus onto it. The otter stared at his paw but when nothing happened he held up his other bar focusing even harder.

"No, No!" Nick could hear the muffled screams of the otter through the glass, the fox looked still in shock as the otter began to cry. Magnus took out their power checker and scanned the otter, after a few moments the scanner showed a zero.

"Wonderful" the said, "now you see that my intentions are no joke Nick, but don't worry I don't plan on taking your powers, just everyone else's. No no, I have bigger plans for you"

Nick couldn't take his eyes off the otter and the display he just watched, "you're a savage, why would you do that?" He screamed to Magnus. Being that they were wearing a mask Nick couldn't see any reaction,

"I won't tell you that just yet, now follow me" Magnus said turning once again and leaving, Nick was glued to his spot until Raul shoved him to move, he walked reluctantly towards the door taking a look at the elephant who was standing next to it still looking at him, there was something off about him. The group then headed out of the room and back out into the corridor. Nick was walking but he didn't pay any attention to wear he was going, he was still reeling over what he witnessed. When they reached the end of the next corridor Magnus turned around as the door was opened.

"Now, I have lots of researchers here. Each of them tasked with finding ways to remove powers. What you just saw was the current most portable way to remove them. What I'm about to show you is the most effective but the biggest, also the most painful, Enjoy." Before Nick could comprehend what Magnus said the rhino behind him shoved him through the door which was shut quickly once he was in shrouding him in darkness.

It was silent and entirely dark, that is until a sound started above Nick. It sounded like a jet plane preparing to take off and got continuously louder, Nick also noticed a light starting to glow above him. When he looked up all he saw was circles that led to a point each of which was flowing with what looked like electricity. The sound became unbearable as his ears began to ring, right when it sounded like it would explode a bolt of lightning shot out of the machine coming straight for him. The second it hit him pain flowed through his body knocking him to his knees. The beam was like a leach sucking the energy out of his body. Second by second he felt weaker until it was difficult to keep his eyes open. 'I'm going to die' is all that he could think about. He started to think about what he was leaving behind, his parents, their legacy, his friends, and Judy… the thought that he would never see her again caused tears to form in his eyes. He thought about her beautiful violet eyes, the way her grey fur shimmered in the light, the fact that she was one of the first mammals to truly trust him in years. Just as the world started to turn black the beam that was attached to him faded and he was shrouded in darkness again, slowly the sound died away.

The sound of a door opening made Nick open his eyes, because of how weak he was he couldn't see very well, but he could make out the silhouette of a large mammal. He could feel himself being picked up, but the feeling of weakness took over and he blacked out.

He caught snippets and pieces of what was happening while he danced in and out of consciousness, whatever mammal was carrying him was very big as they plowed through guards that tried to stop them.

The mammal ran through the compound which was much larger than Nick thought, he couldn't really comprehend which directions they were going but considering he was in and out like four separate times it must have been extremely large.

The last thing Nick could make out was being lifted up and into a vent which was easy for this large mammal to do, and once he was inside he let himself go into a deep sleep…

"WAKE UP!" Came a scream that was all to familiar to Nick. Energy shot through him from a paw that was placed on his head, his eyes shot open and what he saw couldn't have made him any happier.

"JUDY!"

—

The night was cold and windy, especially for the short rabbit who was wearing the warmest clothes she had from her apartment which was just leggings and a dark jacket. She had no idea where she was going, just following the mammal who did. She had to be really careful because the mammal she was tailing would be very, VERY, angry. So she took extra precautions when rounding her corners, she would sit at the edge and peak around to be sure he didn't turn around. They must have been walking for about thirty minutes before the mammal turned down an alley and stopped in front of a man hole. They looked through their phone one last time before sliding it into his pocket. He bent down and lifted up the lid sliding it out of the way before hopping down the hole, the last thing she saw from him was his red paw reaching back out and sliding the lid in place but leaving it cracked. She sighed in relief when she saw that there was still a crack that she could slip through because she knew that it was far too heavy for her to lift. She waited a minute before squeezing down the hole.

The first thing to hit her was the smell and the overwhelming darkness. It was so dark that she couldn't see the ladder and slipped falling to the bottom of the sewer. The sound of her falling and the squeak she let out because of it echoed through the sewer, she heard from the distance a snarl and with her natural ability to hear she could tell that he had turned around. She quickly slid over to a pillar hoping that he couldn't see her, after what felt like a lifetime she heard him continue to walk. The rabbit let out a silent breath of relief, she stood up and looked one last time at the light above her revealing the violet eyes of Judy Hopps.

She started her silent walk into the darkness using her hearing to track the position of her mammal. They continued to walk for about thirty more minutes, before she heard him stop walking and start climbing a ladder, she quickly went and hid behind another pillar. She heard him pound against the entrance once without it budging, on the second time she peaked around the corner and saw her fox pushing the lid aside before getting covered in snow. If they were under different circumstances she would have laughed, but she was trying to stay hidden. Once he was clear of the drain she quickly followed after him.

When she was out of the sewer the first thing she noticed was the cold had increased and of course snow covered every part of the world around her. "Tundra Town, why did it have to be Tundra Town?" She said to herself. She continued to tail her fox for block after block even though the cold was slowly eating away at her exposed feet and ears. "Thwip" she could hear the sound of the tranquilizer gun from around the corner. Judy wanted nothing more than to turn the corner and see whatever happened, but she restrained herself to only peak around to see Nick being dragged towards a van by lion. Once the van was loaded up it slowly drove out from the alley stopping at the intersection, Judy quickly ran underneath the van grabbing on to whatever she could. The van quickly picked up speed turning down the road, the wind buffeted Judy nearly knocking her off but she held on tightly trying to ignore the cold. It was easy going for the most part until the van got on the freeway and sped up, the ground flying beneath her. If she moved her ears then they would be grounded away with how fast they were going. They entered a tunnel and the van slowed down turning down a side tunnel, it was starting to become a lot more humid and a lot less cold. The van exited the tunnel and was on a road that was bordered by the side of a mountain and on the other side continued to drop down into a cliff.

Eventually the van came to a stop in front of a building, the doors opened and she saw the body of Nick being dragged into the building. Judy quickly dropped down and rolled out from underneath the van, she took off running to avoid being seen and made it to the corner of the building. Looking around she now noticed just where she was, the building was perched at the top of a large waterfall and where she was standing was near the edge. 'How am I gonna get in' she thought, the feeling of water dripping on her head caught her attention, she looked up to see a drain pipe. 'Ugh of course'.

The drain wasn't gross but continuing to get wet was something that she didn't enjoy, the end of the pipe led up to a small cover which was easy to push up for her. She peaked out of the hole to see no one around her, she crawled out and put the cover back in place. Voices could easily be heard on the otherwise of the door which was directly in front of her. 'Walking around the halls is gonna get me caught' she thought looking around for a different route. An open vent cover caught her eye but was way too high, there were beds piled up all around the room but what she noticed was the boxes that were stacked neatly near the door. She walked over and pushed against them, she had to put her entire body weight into the boxes in order to move them but eventually they were in position. After that getting in the vent was simple, just two easy hops and she was in.

Judy followed the vent through the compound listening for anything that sounded like Nick or the masked mammal.

"Ahhhh Stop stop please!" She heard Nick scream,

'Oh no' she thought. She followed the sound until it led her to a vent opening that allowed her to look down on a large room. The vent cover had been knocked off so she had easy access if she needed to leave. She looked in to see several mammals in the dark beneath her surrounding three mammals in the center of the room. One of the three in the center was Nick who was strapped to a chair, standing next to him was a large rhino holding a rod, and finally sitting across from them was the masked mammal.

"-majority of the school will be there, and I would like to take away the powers of all of them, with your help." The masked mammal was talking to Nick who looked like he was still waking up from a long nap. The mammal held out there paw where a hologram was displayed, "this is what you will bring to the dance next week, it will look like just an ordinary box but inside will be a device that releases a gas" all of this was being displayed on the hologram the held a liquid and had tubes that came out of the sides, "this gas is something I personally have been working on for a very long time. Would you like to see what it does?" They asked, Judy had taken out her phone during their monologue and began recording.

"I'm guessing I don't have a choice" Nick said, the rhino then made a move for something on his waist pulling out a knife. Judy's blood ran cold and she closed her eyes not wanting to see what was gonna happen. When no sound came she opened her eyes to see Nicks bounds had been cut, he looked equally as confused as she was.

"I want to show you that I trust our little relationship, also if you step out of line I will have my friend Raul here show you the electric rod again, now follow me" the masked mammal said walking out followed by Nick and the rhino.

'I can't follow them' she thought. Just beneath her was an elephant that was within arms reach of her, so she reached out her paw and touched the top of the elephant creating a link.

Judy slid back so she was hidden in the vent closed her eyes putting herself into the rhinos mind. When she opened her eyes again to see she was now high up in the air, it was strange being this tall as Judy was normally much closer to the ground. She walked after the group trying to look as official as possible.

"Aaron" she heard someone whisper to her, she turned around to see a Timberwolf looking up at her confused, "where do you think you're going? This is our post for the next hour" the wolf said.

"Uh, I don't trust that fox I'm just gonna stay close to see if they need any more help" she said, but her voice came out as a gruff male voice. The wolf looked skeptical but nodded in response. She continued after the group as they walked through the compound keeping far enough back so that it didn't look too suspicious. Eventually the group went through a door guarded by two more wolves, Judy waited a moment before following after them. When she entered the first thing she noticed were mammals being held captive in glass pens, she had to work really hard not to react to the pain that was written on these mammals faces. The next thing she noticed was that when she looked over to the group she saw Nick looking directly at her.

'Does he know its me?' She thought to herself, he looked away when the masked mammal started to speak again.

"These pens are strong enough so that no mammal can escape them. They were specifically designed so that mammals with super powers can't escape. Now here we have Emmet Otterton a middle aged otter who has had his powers for about forty-five years, but today we will take them from him forever"

'What?' Judy thought to herself,

"WHAT?" Nick screamed. 'This could spell disaster if it gets out to other villains, the era of super hero's could be over'.

"This gas I have been developing has the ability to take mammals with extraordinary abilities and strip them of what makes them special so that they are no more special than the average citizen" the masked mammal stepped up the glass tapping it, "Mr. Otterton can you do me a favor and demonstrate your powers?"

Judy couldn't see what was happening but when the rhino reached in and screaming followed she guessed that the otter refused. She was trying to ignore the screams and focuses on Nick who was looking away from the sight in front of him. When the screams died down he looked back up, it was silent for a few moments until the masked mammal once again spoke up.

"As you can see Mr. Otterton here has the power to grow any plant from his body, this could allow him to grow vines or whole trees from his body" they said. Just then a badger in a lab coat walked in, "Is it ready?"

The doctor nodded in response, "Yes the newest and final test batch is ready for its trial run" they said.

"Excellent" the masked mammal said. Judy saw a purple gas start to come from the ceiling in the pen, whoever was in there began coughing. The coughing lasted until all of the gas disappeared, Nick was still looking on in horror.

"Mr. Otterton please try to demonstrate your powers again" there was silence after the masked mammal asked.

"No, No!" She heard the screams coming from the pen. The mammal pulled out a scanner which Judy recognized from the night they attacked Nicks house,

"Wonderful" the said, "now you see that my intentions are no joke Nick, but don't worry I don't plan on taking your powers, just everyone else's. No no, I have bigger plans for you"

Nick continued to stare but finally spoke up, "you're a savage, why would you do that?" He screamed to the masked mammal.

"I won't tell you that just yet, now follow me" they said heading towards the door, Nick stayed where he was until the rhino shoved him to move, on his way out the door he took a look at Judy who simply watched on as the group left. Once again waiting a few moments before following them out. They walked through the halls before stopping in front of yet another door. The masked mammal turned around while the door opened behind them,

"Now, I have lots of researchers here. Each of them tasked with finding ways to remove powers. What you just saw was the current most portable way to remove them. What I'm about to show you is the most effective but the biggest, also the most painful, Enjoy." Nick was then shoved into the room, the door closing behind him. Judy stood frozen to her spot as the masked mammal went through a door on the other side of the hall that looked like a control center looking in a the room Nick was now trapped in. Once the coast was clear Judy stepped up and pounded on the door. She smashed the control panel hoping it would open but it just caused the alarm to go off around her. The door where the control center was began to open so Judy ran over and smashed the control panel on that door before slamming it closed sealing the mammals on the inside. As she approached the original door she heard what sounded like a jet engine taking off and a scream coming from inside the door.

'I have to get in there' she thought frantically, she stepped away from the door before turning and running full force into it, the door dented in from her weight but didn't open. She rammed it two more times and still nothing happened, on her third attempt the jet engine sound began to die away, she gave the door one last slam and it broke open. It was dark in the room but there was just enough light peaking in that she could see the limp figure of her fox lying on the ground. She rushed in and picked him up, tucking his body against her. Being an elephant meant that it was gonna be very hard to stop her once she was running, she took off towards where her real body was laying in the vent. The alarm blared around her and the lights were flashing red,

"Attention all mammals we have a rogue agent carrying away the primary subject all guards apprehend, I repeat, all guards apprehend" the voice of the masked mammal screamed over the intercom. Mammals stepped in her way but Judy used her tusks to ram them to the side. Guns fired around her but somehow even though she was massive the bullets all missed, or so she thought. The bullets were just so small that they simply bounced off of her body and she couldn't feel the pain from it. Eventually she made it to the vent where she lifted Nicks body up and into it using the elephants trunk, she then continued to control the elephant and ran off in a different direction hoping to lead the guards off their trail. Once they were far enough away she broke her connection with the elephant and returned to her own body.

She opened her eyes to see that she was back in the vent and of course back to being a rabbit. She got up very quickly and slid over to Nick, he was unconscious and breathing very slowly. Judy planed her paw on his head focusing her energy on her paws, it took a lot of energy but eventually she could feel him start to wake up.

"Nick!" She screamed, nothing.

"NICK!" She screamed again, still nothing. Judy put all of her power in her paw focusing on getting him up,

"WAKE UP!" She screamed with all her might. His eyes then shot open looking around before landing on her face, the smile on his face warmed her heart,

"JUDY!" He screamed back, reaching in and pulling her into a kiss.

—

Nick could not have been happier when he saw his bunny. The kiss was sweet and much needed but Judy pulled away very quickly.

"Nick we have to get moving they are going to find us" she said pulling him up.

"Alright lead the way" he said. He still felt very weak but felt like he could move on his own. He got up onto his hands and knees and followed her through the vent. They eventually came into an opening that Judy jumped through, he was quick to follow dropping down onto some boxes before climbing to the floor. Judy then lifted a cover to the a sewer vent, climbing in once it was clear. Once again Nick followed putting the lid on after he was in. The floor was wet but at least it didn't smell like sewage. They crawled through reaching the end of the tunnel and climbing out. The first thing he noticed was how precariously perched they were on the side of a cliff that led to a water fall.

"This way come on" came Judys call, she was shimmying towards a road out at the front of the building. The pair ran down the road crossing the bridge that would lead them back to the tunnel to Tundra Town. But there were mammals blocking their path, lots of them. Magnus was no where to be seen but plenty of their guards were blocking the road, they raised their guns and aimed directly at the two of them. Nick took Judy instinctively and put her behind him. One of the mammals stepped forward gun raised still, it was a brown bear,

"Listen kid we don't make the orders we just follow them, and those orders are to bring you back alive that is unless you try to escape in which we will open fire" the bear spoke out her voice easily heard over the roar of the water fall, "it's your move"

Everyone stood there waiting for someone to make the first move,

'Can you swim?' Judy asked in his mind,

'Yeah why?' He asked back.

'Follow me' the bunny behind him took off running towards the side of the bridge and jumped, the move surprised Nick and he was slow to follow. The mammals opened fire on the fox as he ran towards the edge, he considered himself lucky as he hadn't been shot yet, he stopped just at the edge and looked over not being able to see the bottom, or Judy. Suddenly he felt a searing pain in my arm and heard the sound of mammals running up to him. Not wanting to risk being captured he stepped over the edge and took a leap of faith…

—

Wow, now that's a chapter. Sorry not sorry for the "cliff" hanger, ha get it. I get asked often what my favorite movie is, and while Zootopia is my favorite animated movie my favorite movie over all is Interstellar. You might be able to see that here if you go back and re-read with this crossed story. If you have not seen that movie then do yourself a favor and watch it, it is well worth the two and a half hour run time. Another good movie is 1917 and Spider-Man into the Spiderverse. Now that we're all in quarantine it's a great time to watch some movies. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter, the next one will hopefully come out on this same schedule (about two days) but at this point who knows what April will bring to 2020. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave a review or PM me I enjoy reading that you are enjoying the story, If you have any ideas let me know as well! Stay safe out there and go wear a mask or something. Protect the elders!


	18. Chapter 17: The Hunt

Time seemed to slow, the world not rotating with him but around him. The roar of the water fall was deafening on the bridge but now that he was in it he could feel his ear drums being pounded. He couldn't see, the water continuously splashed into his face as he fell. And lastly the burning sensation on his arm, he peeked over to see blood dripping out of a hole on his shirt, he couldn't tell in that moment if the bullet he was shot with had gone all the way through or not. But in that moment it didn't matter, what mattered was surviving the fall. Time sped up the moment he thought about where he was and before he knew it the pool was just beneath him. He pinched his legs together and plugged his nose to prepare for the inevitable. The water hit him like a bus, if his legs weren't together well let's just say that he would be feeling that for awhile. He was shocked by how cold the water was, it caused him to try breathing in filling his lungs with water. Out of instinct he began kicking towards the surface but because of how high the drop was he was far deeper than he was expecting. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to get any closer to the air he so truly desired, and just as the world began to fade two paws grabbed him by the scruff and hoisted him the surface.

Nick bent over and coughed up all the water in his lungs before flipping onto his back and lying down. "Well Carrots I guessed you saved me twice today, is that a new record" Nick chuckled as he looked over at the rabbit next to him who was looking at him in anger. 'Uh oh' he thought.

'Yeah uh oh is right' Judy said back to him. Nick looked surprised before remembering the link she had created with him on the bridge.

"Nicholas Wilde you have some serious explaining to do" she said out loud to him pointing a finger in front of his face. It was then that the burning on his arm reminded him of the bullet that had gone through him.

Judy noticed him flinch and looked over, her eyes instantly softening when she saw his injury. "Oh gosh Nick were you shot?"

"No I was just racing a bullet and it won" he responded with pain lacing his voice. Using his good arm he pulled the string out of his hoodie and held it up to Judy. "Here tie this above the hole, and no matter how much I tell you to stop I want you to make sure its tight other wise I could bleed out okay?" He said seriously. Judy took the string and wrapped around his arm twice, she stopped just before making the knot looking into his eyes. Nick knew that she didn't want to hurt him so he nodded to prove he was serious. The pain shot through his arm causing him to whimper but he bit down on his scream so that she wouldn't stop. When she was done Nick looked over her work, it was tied on there very tight and the blood flow was already starting to slow. He reached over to Judy and pulled her into a hug,

"I will tell you everything later, right now we need to get to somewhere safe" he said into her ear. He pulled back just enough and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before standing up. The pair started by walking away from the waterfall and into the surrounding forest. Nicks powers were still diminished but because of the fact that his exposure to the machine wasn't that long he could feel his body start to refuel. The forest they walked through was thick and prevented them from seeing the sky, luckily they had Judys phone, which somehow survived the dip in the water, the phone said it was roughly two in the morning.

"Heh, I guess if Magnus Mortem is good at one thing they picked a good day to mess up my life, because I get to sleep all day now" Nick said referring to the fact that it was now Saturday morning. Judy looked up at him confused, "you know because it's Friday?"

"No I got that but what did you say? What is a Magnus Mortem?" Judy asked, she had only ever referred to them as the masked mammal not knowing that they had an actual name.

"Oh the masked mammal is actually named Magnus Mortem" he said, "I have no idea what it means though" Judy thought back to her days of Latin in middle school trying to figure out what that phrase meant. Magnus is great and Mortem is death,

"Great Death, it means Great Death in Latin" she said.

"Well that makes se-"

"Quiet" Judy interrupted him, Nick looked at her as if she had grown a second head until he noticed her ears rotating around like a sonar, when he saw that he went quiet.

Footsteps, and a lot of them, were walking their way. Judy could hear them but couldn't see because it was too dark for her so Nick took advantage of his night vision and peeked around a tree to where he could hear the sound. Sure enough there was a group of three mammals walking in their direction. Nick quickly grabbed Judy and hid behind the nearest tree,

'Three mammals heading our way, they are pretty big' he thought to her, 'I'm gonna peak again'. He looked around the side to see the mammals walking closer, they were about thirty feet away and closing quickly. Nick could see that they were all wolves and they were all wearing night vision goggles, they also all had guns. 'They're all timberwolves and they have night vision and guns we need to let them pass' Judy nodded in response.

The footsteps got closer, the twigs and leaves cracking underneath their feet. Nicks senses were coming back now and he could sense where they roughly were.

"Oi! I have a scent here" one of the wolves said in an Australian accent. Nicks breath caught in his throat, 'they're gonna find us we need to move somewhere else' he thought to Judy. He used his night vision to look around for a place to hide. The only thing around them were trees except for about twenty feet away there was a small bush. 'There's a bush right over there I think if we sit in there we should be fine' he thought,

'Alright I am just gonna follow you because I can't see'

'Okay ready aaaannd go!' The pair took off running as quietly as they could, lucky for them the trees kept them hidden from the wolves. Judy held on tight to Nicks paw as they ran in the dark, she let out a surprised squeak when he picked her up and slid under the bush. Once comfortable he set her down next to him and looked out for where the wolves were. One rounded the tree where they originally were sitting sniffing closely trying to identify where the two were, the other two wolves following close behind.

The wolves continued to move closer and closer until it became inevitable that they were about to get caught. 'Judy listen were going to be okay, when these wolves see us I want you to run and get help. I'll be fine' he thought to her. He cared more about her safety then he did his, the wolf was just about ten feet away and with the night vision goggles he had he was going to see them any moment. 'Judy I love you' he thought, about to stand up and get their attention. Judy had other ideas as she leaned over grabbing a rock, she moved herself just enough to peak out of the bush, bringing her arm back and throwing the rock with all her might. The rock flew in the air hitting a tree with a loud thunk, instantly grabbing the attention of the three wolves.

"Over there get them" called one of the wolves, the three of them ran off while Judy and Nick looked at each other,

"Run" the two said at the same time. They took off running in the original direction they were headed being sure to avoid where the wolves were going. They didn't stop running, dashing between trees and bushes until they hit a clearing. Once there the two stopped, Nick having to bend over to catch his breath,

"What's the matter foxy, not built to be a super hero?" Came the teasing voice of Judy, laughter erupted from Nick which was then followed by a whimper as he grabbed at his arm the pain coming back as his adrenaline wore off.

"I would say being shocked, drained of my powers like someone squeezing a sponge, being shot, and then also the fact that its two in the morning gives me an excuse to be tired" Nick said looking up at Judy, but the rabbit didn't immediately catch his eye, what did was the looming skyscrapers in the distance, "Carrots look behind you" he said pointing with his good arm. The rabbit turned and gasped in surprise, the buildings reached into the sky with dazzling colors of orange, red, and green, contrasting greatly to the dark night sky behind it.

"You know" Nick said starting to stand up, "in all my years of living in Zootopia I think I've seen a view like this maybe twice"

"Nick its beautiful how could you not look at it, when I first came into the city it was during the day. Don't get me wrong it was nice but this is just amazing" she said. The two stood there for a moment until the sounds of howling in the distance alerted them that they were still being hunted.

"Let's move" Nick said taking Judys paw and walking in the direction of the skyscrapers. The walk wasn't so bad after that, they knew where they were going and the wolves were long gone. After another half hour of walking the time read three meaning it had been a whole hour since Nick had been shot. The fox could feel it, he was shivering and starting to stumble around a bit. And from Judy's view the fox was beginning to look a bit pale.

"Nick we have to get you to a hospital" she said, worry thick in her voice,

"No, we can't go to the hospital, I don't want my parents knowing about this whole thing. Otherwise they are going to freak out and probably lock me in my house or something, or worse they are going to be watching me as much as Magnus is now" he said, "do you know anyone who could possibly help us?"

Judy went silent as she thought about it, "actually yes I do know someone, although you may not like it" she said,

"I will get over it you just have to lead the way"

They forest eventually cleared out revealing the huge wall that surrounded the city. Inside. The wall was the climate control centers that monitored the temperature and other aspects of climate for each of the four main sections, but now they were just an obstacle that the duo had to pass. There were plenty of entrances for vehicles such as cars and trains but pedestrians was a different story. Luckily Nick knew some good entrances they could use from his hustling days.

"Before we go in can you tell me which section this mammal is that's going to help is?" He asked,

"He lives in Sahara Square" was all she said. Nick didn't like how fast she said that, he trusted Judy with his life but something about the way she said that made him feel unsettled. He shrugged it off for now as he led the way towards the entrance to Sahara Square which was pretty close considering Tundra Town was connected next Sahara Square. As they continued to walk Judy pulled out her phone and started typing away, when she finished she almost immediately got a ping back.

"Hmm" Nick said to himself knowing him and Judy were still linked.

"Alright he knows were coming" she said.

"Perfect", Nick responded. The pair were now next to the wall which dwarfed the two easily. It was at least 100 to 200 feet taller than them and would be impossible to scale without the right equipment. Thankfully they would be doing no such climbing because of Nicks entrance, which was a small door that was the perfect size for the both of them. There was a code lock on the door that didn't actually work and was only there to deter mammals from trying to get through, it still took a great deal of pulling to get the door open as it was rarely ever used. Once inside and with the door secure did Judy notice how incredibly hot it was inside.

"That heats coming from the climate heater, this passage way is for mechanical workers who need to repair it" Nick said seeing Judy fan herself with her paw. They walked with haste to get out of the heat, although it was nicer than the cold but still was uncomfortable. It was like a maze on the inside but Nick where he was going so Judy simply followed him. The lights inside provided a dull orange glow on everything, eventually they came up to another door which was much easier to open and led out to the city.

The air outside the wall was warm but not hot, it was probably the one nice temperature the two had felt all night. And the warm sand underneath their feet helped welcome them back into the city, like they had been gone for a long time when it had just been a few hours. Now it was Judy's turn to lead the way, they walked through empty streets being illuminated by streetlights and the large palm tree building that housed Zootopia's only casino. Passing by the building, the two noticed that even though it was now nearly four in the morning the casino was still bustling with rich mammals looking for a good time. The duo tried to act as natural as possible although it was difficult because of the fact that Nicks right arm was covered in blood and he was shivering and walking around clumsily because of blood loss. And it was when a giraffe gave them a weird look that they started to walk a little faster, or more like Judy having to pull Nick to go faster. But eventually they got past the bustling area and stopped in front of a house. Judy pulled out her phone and gave one last text to whoever was inside. Seconds later the door opened revealing none other than Clawhauser. As soon as his eyes landed on the injured fox he gasped putting his paws up to his mouth.

"O M Goodness, Nick are you okay? What happened?" The cheetah asked. Nick looked over at his bunny giving her a fake smile,

'Really?' He thought to Judy,

"Uh yeah Ben I'm alright just a little worse for wear" Nick said, "as far what happened I will tell you and Judy at the same time I just need to sit down" Nick said almost falling over, Judy ran around to the other side in order to keep him standing. Clawhauser led them inside and allowed Nick to lie down on the couch while he went to get some water for them all. It was while the cheetah was handing them water that Nick thought about why they were here.

"Wait Clawhauser, you have to power of healing?" He asked

"Yeah why?" Ben asked,

"Well we've sat at the same table for lunch everyday for a few months now and I had no idea" Nick said feeling a little bad that he never really payed attention to what he said.

"It's okay I don't talk about it that much" he said, the cheetah then clapped his hands together hoping to change the subject, "Anyways! Even though I have the power to heal it doesn't really take the pain away, and in some cases it may hurt while I do this so I'm gonna have Judy here put you too sleep okay?" He asked pulling up a seat and cracking his knuckles, Nick nodded in response taking a deep breath.

"It's gonna be okay Nick I won't leave your side and I'll be here when you wake up" Judy said rubbing a paw on top of Nicks head, "Now sleep", the moment she said that Nick went unconscious.

Judy watched as Nicks eyes fluttered closed and his breathing steadied as he fell asleep, sighing and closing her eyes once he was out, she didn't like doing it to him but she knew it was for the best.

"So can you tell me where he was hurt so I know where to focus?" Ben asked awkwardly as she saw Judy having a moment. She reopened her eyes and gave him a genuine smile,

"He was electrocuted, he was shot in the arm, and he had some of his powers drained by a machine" she said. Clawhauser's jaw dropped lower and lower as she told her all that had happened to him.

"Wow you two have certainly had one hell of a night, I will fix him up for you!" He said putting his paws over the bullet wound on his arm.

"Thank you Ben, he would do the same for you if he could" Judy said. The cheetah had his eyes closed focusing on his powers, but he still let out a chuckle at her words,

"Would he really? I didn't think he was the helpful type" he said,

"Well he isn't at first but as you get to know him he is a really sweet mammal" she said. Ben paused his work looking over at her,

"You really love him don't you?" He asked, ever since they had met Clawhauser they had gossiped about relationships, he figured out very quickly that the two were dating.

"Yes I really do" Judy said looking once again at her fox. Clawhauser turned back to his work, focusing on the wound on Nicks arm. He then realized that Judy was just standing there staring,

"Judy if you want to sleep you can take a seat over there" he said pointing to a comfy looking chair. It was then that Judy felt the sheer amount of exhaustion she had.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea just wake me up when you are done" she said sitting down and closing her eyes falling asleep very quickly.

The smell of coffee woke him up, 'Hmm I didn't know my parents drank coffee' Nick thought to himself opening his eyes slowly. 'Wait a minute this is not my house', and he was right he was in an entirely different house, the memories of last night slowly coming back. His right arm was aching but not as bad as it was last night, he also felt a lot stronger. He looked over at the chair to his right to see Judy sleeping peacefully, her nose twitching slightly.

"Good morning sleepy head" came a cheery voice Nick was not expecting, he looked up to see Ben holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Thanks, what time is it?" He asked taking the cup from the cheetah.

"It's ten you guys have both been asleep for about six hours" Ben said, taking a seat on the couch next to him.

"Six hours that's a new record" came Judy's voice, both Ben and Nick looked at Judy confused while she let out a big yawn. As soon as she finished she noticed the stares she was getting, "What I don't get much sleep because of the amount of work I get at school" she said. Nick shrugged before taking a sip of his coffee, he never normally drank coffee but in that moment he didn't really care about flavor he just wanted to put something in his stomach.

"So Nick, I would say now is a good time don't you think?" Judy asked, she walked over to him crossed her arms and tapped her paw. Nick looked over at Ben and then went back to Judy taking a deep breath and then sighing.

"Yeah now is a good time, might as well get comfortable" he said patting the spot next to him for Judy, she sat down looking directly at him.

"This all started back at the beginning of school maybe the fourth or fifth day of school after we went to investigate that house. Oh it was when I had that weird pain attack in my head remember?" He asked Judy who nodded in response, "anyways I left your apartment and on the walk back I was attacked by who I thought at that time was just the masked mammal but they are much more than that, I thought I had the upper hand until they moved me without touching me. Then they told me that I would be working for them now and the only way to keep you from dying was by completing whatever they asked of me. So I said yes because I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something I could have prevented happened to you" he said putting a paw on Judy's cheek, "that's also where I found out their name is actually Magnus Mortem. But anyways, a few months passed and I hadn't heard anything so I forgot about it until two nights ago when I got a phone call from them, I couldn't react because there was someone watching us with a gun at you Judy. And all they told me was that I needed to meet with them last night and then we all know how that went" Nick said with finality,

"Uh I still don't know what happened last night" Clawhauser said, the two then went on to explain what had happened describing how Magnus created the a way to remove mammals of their powers.

"Wow that is a really crazy night" Clawhauser said after the two told their story.

"Nick you could have just told me in the closet that one day" Judy said,

"I would have but I sa in there and I thought that they were there watching us, well now they know so I guess it doesn't matter" he said.

"Yeah but what if I didn't create a link with you Nick then I wouldn't have known that you were going to be captured or electrocuted. Hell if I didn't link with you, you wouldn't have your powers anymore!" She yelled getting into Nicks face, Nick looked away,

"You're right but I wasn't going to intentionally put you at risk" he said, "I am happy you created the link because if you didn't I wouldn't be here or maybe even alive at all. But I would rather die knowing that you are safe then have to live without you" he was speaking like he had already given up hope, his head hanging low and his eyes closed.

"Well did you ever think about how I would feel knowing you died and then I never know the reason why?" She asked more calmly, "Nick I love you, seeing you get electrocuted and tossed around like some rag doll physically hurt me. And its not because I think you can't take it, it's because I know you can. You keep it all bottled inside of you and even though we've been dating for months I feel like you still won't let me in. I get that you did all this to protect me, but remember our promise back in the beginning? We need to watch each other's backs" she said putting a paw on his back. Nick leaned in to her, nuzzling his chin against her head.

"I know Carrots, I know" a calm silence followed as the two sat there holding each other. That is until a high pitched squeeze startled them out of their embrace.

"Awwwwwwww you two are so darn cute" Clawhauser said, the cheetah then noticed the annoyed look that they were giving him, "oops did I kill the moment?"

"Absolutely massacred it Ben" Nick said, "don't worry about it though we need to get going, I'm sure my parents are freaking out right now"

The fox stood up stretching every part of his body forgetting about his still sore arm, hissing in pain when he moved it the wrong way.

"Yeah don't forget that the pain will still be there for a bit as well as a bit of bruising but other than that you have no chance of infection or anything like that happening" Ben said.

"Thanks for reminding me" Nick said. Judy elbowed him in the side, looking down at her as she mouthed the words 'say thank you'. The fox flinched at that, they had showed up at his door at three in the morning, he healed Nick and allowed them to sleep over yet he never said thank you other than for the coffee. Nick stopped just before grabbing the door and turned around.

"Ben in all seriousness, thank you so much for all of this" he said looking at the cheetah.

"Don't worry about it Nick, from what you've told me we really need a hero right now. And at this point you are that hero" Clawhauser said sincerely. Nick nodded in response not letting what Clawhauser's statement fully sink in as he walked out the door.

The two began their journey again this time not worried about being chased.

"Do you want me to bring you back to your place?" Nick asked as they started walking towards Savannah Central.

"Yeah that would be nice" she said. The walk was very relaxed, they weren't really in a rush to get anywhere because the future was such a big question mark, when would Magnus strike again?

Eventually they walked through city center where it seemed no one was in a rush either, probably because of the weekend, but considering how fast everything had gone last night it was a nice change in pace. The only noise disturbing the silence was the occasional firetruck, which seemed normal at that point.

"So what's your plan for the day?" Nick asked trying to create a conversation,

"Oh probably gonna lock every way into my apartment and then do my homework" she said,

"Gosh that sounds like fun" he said. It was then that he noticed a strange smell in the air, if it wasn't for his enhanced senses he probably wouldn't notice. It was a bitter smell, one that was reminiscent of camping or being outside. The smell reminded him of warmth like a nice camp… fire… it was then that another firetruck zoomed past turning onto Judy's block. "Oh no"

"What?" She asked confused not being able to smell it. Nick didn't respond, he just started to pick up the pace Judy following close behind. She eventually smelled the smoke, and noticed the sirens coming from her block. They turned the corner to see smoke billowing out of the top of her building. Mammals were surrounding the building while the firefighters sprayed the building down. By the time that the duo got close enough the fire was still roaring and the damage could be seen.

"Oh my gosh" was all that Judy could say, while Nick just stared with his jaw hanging. The worst part of it was that the entire wall was blown off on one part of the building, and that part was right where Judy's apartment was…

 **There we go another chapter, I hope you enjoyed this one as I enjoyed writing it. The schedule is still going I am writing up to 2000 words a day which is exciting and bizarre because it used to be a chapter every month, I guess thanks to the 'Rona am I right? Anyways it doesn't seem like this thing is gonna end anytime soon so I might actually get through this whole story by the time the school year should end. Can't wait to see how you like this chapter, leave a review I really enjoy reading them and two of the ideas from the reviews have been incorporated so thank you to who left those reviews it really means a lot! Stay safe, stay clean, if you have any story ideas you can pm me or leave a review and we can discuss how to incorporate it. Now go wash your hands and save the elderly!**


	19. Chapter 18: Welcome Home

Everything was destroyed, all of her possessions, clothes, work, all burnt to ashes. The firefighters allowed them up to the room once the fire was completely out so they were now standing alone in the aftermath of it all, the once tan room was now a dark burnt hull with an entire wall missing. She moved around her room in silence, digging through the rubble to look for anything that might've survived. Nick could sense her sadness but she had yet to let it show yet.

After about thirty minutes of searching more sirens came from the streets below, they both peaked over to see that now the police had shown up. And a few minutes later the sound of heavy footsteps emanated through the hall before stopping at the door. The pair looked to see none other than the chief of police, but unlike their first visit from the buffalo he had a much more sympathetic face on then his stoic leader like face back in the hospital many months ago. The buffalo looked at the two in silence before signaling for them to follow him wordlessly.

"But-" Judy said before being cut off by the chief

"The investigators will bring anything they find to the station and I will have an officer bring it to you" was all he said walking down the hall. They followed him back out to the street as officers filed in past them heading towards the room. There were a lot more mammals outside then when they first arrived at the apartment building, the police had created a perimeter and marked it with tape. Just beyond the tape was mammals lined up to get a view of the destruction, and reporters who wanted information for the story. Bogo created a path through the crowed, the two shorter mammals falling in behind. They did not escape the press though as the camera's flashed and microphones were shoved in their face. Nick instinctively grabbed onto Judy as they walked through the hoard who were yelling questions in their face,

"Are you the mammals that lived in that apartment?"

"Was this the doings of some arsonist?"

"The whole on that building is missing could this have been a direct attack?"

Eventually they made it through the crowd and stepped into the back of a police cruiser, Bogo sitting in the drivers seat. The car came to life and drove off towards city center, Nick held onto Judy as she simply looked into the back of the seat like she was trying to shoot lasers through it. The drive wasn't long, maybe two minutes of turning and they were in the garage of the ZPD.

"You two aren't in trouble unless you have a reason to be, I just want to ask you some questions about what happened" Bogo said looking at them through the rear view mirror, Judy wasn't paying attention so Nick nodded in response. The buffalo led them through the garage and into the main building of the ZPD. Nick had never been in there (or never had a reason to) but the main entrance was a lot nicer than he was expecting, not that he was really expecting anything he had never seen a police station before. The group walked up stairs until they could see the entirety of the police station beneath them. They walked into a room that said Chief of Police on the door, inside the room was a big wooden desk covered in papers and in front of it was a chair. The chief went behind his desk and sat down while Judy and Nick shared the seat in front of him.

"So where should we start?" He asked crossing his arms,

"Where would you like to start sir?" Judy asked after coming to her senses. Bogo seemed to ponder that for a second,

"How about you tell me why you were outside the city?" he asked finally coming to his senses, causing both Nick and Judy to look at him confused, "Oh yes I knew you two were out there all night because I never saw you leave but at two in the morning I was woken up when an alarm in the city's wall was tripped and boy was I surprised to see you two on the camera", Nick looked over at Judy wondering if it was a good idea to tell him the truth. She reached over grabbing his arm and creating another link,

'I think we should tell him' he heard Judy in his head, Nick looked over at her confused,

'Are you sure? Do you remember what he told us when we first met? I don't trust him' he thought. The two continued to talk about it in their heads while Bogo looked on in confusion, they weren't talking but with their facial expressions changing he could tell they were communicating.

'Why did it have to be mammals with powers' he thought to himself rubbing the bridge of his snout.

"Alright chief, I will tell you what happened if you can promise me you won't tell the public, we don't know for sure whats happening or who to trust, deal?" Nick asked breaking the silence. The chief thought again for a moment, he really didn't like bargaining with a teenager but he also understood that they had gone through a lot.

"Fine, deal" he said. The duo went on to describe both of their sides of the story, explaining who Magnus Mortem was and all that they had done like killing that family and torching their house, attacking Nicks house and nearly kidnapping him, blackmailing him and forcing him to do as they said, and of course all of what happened last night.

"And now they are planning on draining the powers of every student in sky high at next weeks dance" Nick finished. The chief sat there in silence for a few minutes taking in the lengthy story he was just told.

"In all my years of being chief of police, I have yet to have a villain that has so thoroughly escaped my knowledge for so long" he said, "thank you two for telling me about this. I promise you I won't tell the public and I won't tell any other officers. I am not going to risk the life of two young mammals such as you two just so the public can be aware", it was then that Bogo's phone began to ring, "excuse me for one moment" he said before picking up the phone.

"ZPD Chief of Police speaking" he said before going quiet and listening to whoever was speaking to him, Nick and Judy sat there in silence while he was on the phone, "Okay thank you for calling me, keep this information confidential between you and me… alright bye" he said hanging up the phone.

"That was the lead investigator in charge of searching whats left of your apartment. He called to tell me that the fire was started by an explosive being put or shot at your specific room. And not only that, they found a symbol under all the ash on your floor, it is two big M's drawn in blood"

Nick looked over at Judy to see her breathing start to become ragged,

"Judy are you okay?" Nick asked putting a paw on her back, when her breathing didn't slow down he turned her just enough so that he could reach around and hug her, whispering in her ear, "Judy its gonna be okay, I promise I won't let anything happen to you", Judy's breathing started to slow and she leaned into him more. The sound of her breathing was then replaced by another sound, it was quick shallow breaths, and the feeling of his shirt getting damp, it didn't take a detective to figure out she was crying. And after holding in her emotions all day, Nick didn't blame her for it. Chief Bogo watched in silence as the two mammals had their moment,

"Hopps listen to me" he said gaining both of their attention, "I promise you that whoever this Magnus Mortem is, I will work so that you don't have to worry about it. Now do you have a place that you can stay for the time being?"

Judy shook her head still slightly sniffling,

"Yes she does" Nick said causing Judy to look up at him with confusion, "we have plenty of room at my freshly rebuilt house for her to stay in" he said looking at Bogo. The buffalo gave out a chuckle,

"You mean the house that got blown up a few months ago that not even your parents could defend" Bogo said leaning over his desk getting into Nick's face,

"Well a few months ago I was unconscious but we still made it out okay" Nick growled back losing control on some of his powers, Bogo noticed the feeling in the room change as the fox got more frustrated.

'Very interesting' he thought, "alright then fox I will trust you and you're family to watch over her, but now I have some questions for you?"

Nick seemed to relax once Bogo leaned back in his chair, "go ahead chief" he said also leaning back in his chair,

"Are you two in a relationship?" The chief asked, Nick tilted his head in confusion,

"Why does that matter?" Nick asked becoming more apprehensive, he knew Bogo didn't really like him (maybe for his species) but if he was against inter-species relationships that would just set Nick off.

"It doesn't, I personally don't care for inter-species relationships, I've sworn to protect any mammal in this city so I have no bias. But as you've noticed today with your brief run in with the media, they will dig up any information they can and twist it to make a better story. And a lot of mammals still don't like inter-species relationships let alone a pred-prey one so when it does get out, and it will, you will get a huge back lash for it especially with your involvement in this whole thing" Bogo said,

"Well in that case we are in a relationship, and we understand all that we are going to face, being hero's won't help that either" Nick said, Bogo seemed happy with that,

"Good, now next, I know that Hopps here has the power to create links with mammals and control them and some other stuff that I don't really comprehend, but what makes you special Wilde?" He asked, Nick smirked,

"Nothing" he said causing Bogo to squint his eyes and huff in frustration, "I'm just some fox with a decent hold on his emotions"

* * *

After he said that it looked like the veins in Bogo's neck were about to explode so he quickly called an officer and told them to drive the two home. The pair left the room and were met by a polar bear,

"So I'm really in charge of driving you two home?" The polar bear asked.

"It seems so" Nick said, "Sorry I know you could really be doing better things like drink coffee and eat donuts" He said with sarcasm causing Judy to snicker quietly.

"Alright watch kid" the polar bear said with a smirk on his face as he led them back down to the garage.

The drive was short and quiet as the polar bear simply asked for directions occasionally, but eventually they were outside Nicks house.

"Thanks officer" Nick said as they left the car,

"Take it easy kid" the car drove off heading back towards the precinct. Nick turned to face Judy as they walked towards the front door,

"Okay we need to get our story straight, I was spending the night with a friend and fell asleep before I could tell them, then I met up with you we went out for breakfast and then we came back to see your apartment on fire and now you need a place to stay" Nick said, Judy nodded in response. Opening the door he saw his parents standing there with their arms crossed.

"Uh heh heh" Nick said, his entire start escaping his brain, "Good morning", his mom came storming over grabbing him by the ear and pulling him into the house.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde you have a lot of explaining to do" she said. The fox then noticed Judy standing behind where Nick was, "Oh hello Judy, I didn't know you were there" she said embarrassed, letting go of Nicks ear.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was, I fell asleep before I could call you. But I was just at a friends house" both his parents raised their eyebrows as they looked between the two, it took a moment but he eventually figured out why they were startled, "oh gosh no! Not with her it was a different friend" Nick said his face heating up from embarrassment.

"Oh, well then why is Judy here? Not that I'm not happy to see you sweetie" she says looking back at the still silent rabbit.

"I went to get breakfast with her" he said trying to calm them down,

"Okay then why is she here now" Edward now asked. Nick paused looking at Judy,

'Do you want me to tell them?' He thought to her, she looked up at him and nodded.

"So that's where our problem begins, while we were out at breakfast we noticed a lot of fire trucks zooming past. And when we got back to her apartment we found out why…" pausing for dramatic effect.

"Oh no…" His mom said covering her mouth with her paw.

"Yeah her room was up in flames, and as of now we don't know if anything survived." Nick said, looking down at the ground,

"Oh my goodness that's terrible, Judy are you okay?" Edward asked,

"Yeah I'm alright, just pretty upset that I lost all my stuff. I don't even know what my parents are gonna say about this." Judy said, her voice was full of sadness.

"So now she needs a place to stay and I was thinking we have so much space that…" Nick said, hoping that his parents would understand what he was insinuating. Understanding dawned on their faces,

"Of course she can stay here, we are still technically in charge of you while you are here so this will make life easier." Edward said,

"Yeah don't worry about it, we will even give you some money to go buy some new clothes. We're still gonna have to bull your parents later but don't you worry about that" Amelia said enthusiastically.

Nicks parents led Judy through they house showing her where everything was, from her room, to the bathroom, to where Nicks room was and everything else in between. Eventually Edward left the group and went to Nick who was sitting in his room,

"Hey Nicky" he said pushing the door open,

"Hey dad, is something wrong?"

"No nothing is wrong but I just want to ask you a serious question, are you and Judy in a relationship?" He asked looking at his son directly in his eyes. Nick paused thinking about all that Judy had told him about wanting to become public, and the words of Bogo rang in his head. 'Screw it' he thought to himself,

"Yeah we are" he said confidently, Edward smiled at that,

"I figured that much, considering how close you two are. Now there are gonna be some ground rules for you two, like no sleeping in each other's rooms and stuff like that, got it?" He asked,

"Yeah that makes sense to me" Nick said. The older fox winded up and gave Nick a punch in the arm, which normally wouldn't have hurt, if it wasn't the arm that got shot. The pain shot through his arm taking his breath away as he let out a whine. His dad looked at him confused and then looked at his paw,

"I didn't hit you that hard did I?" He asked concerned,

"NO! No I just got a bad bruise the other day and you hit it right on the spot" he said through gritted teeth as the pain slowly died down.

"Okay well you and Judy need to go out soon and get her stuff" Edward said leaving the room.

It took Nick about five minutes before he could sit up on his bed, once he was feeling better he left his room to see his mom and Judy sitting on the couch looking at a photo album that he recognized as his baby pictures. Normally he would be upset but seeing her smiling made him feel better so his embarrassment was worth it.

"Alright Carrots, you ready to go?" Nick asked once the two noticed he was there, Judy hopped off the couch and bounded over to him,

"Yep lets go!" She said all joy and happiness back in her step.

The two left the house and started walking to the mall, it wasn't far just out on the other side of Savannah Central. They walked in a peaceful silence, taking advantage of the feeling of the sun on their fur.

"Hey Fluff, remember what Bogo said about us being in the public eye?" Nick asked,

"Yeah"

"Well we definitely don't want to reveal our identity so we should try finding ways to hide it" he said,

"That's a good idea, we're gonna need masks and various clothes to do that" Judy said coming up with different ways she could keep her face and body hidden.

"Actually I know a mammal that can make us custom suits specifically made for hero's like us" Nick said with a smirk on his face, Judy looked at him surprised,

"You do?" She asked,

"Well when you're parents are pretty important hero's you meet a lot of mammals so yes, yes I do. We will need to get some stuff for now because they probably won't be ready for a while but they are quality I promise. But let's go get your stuff first then we will visit them" he said.

* * *

They made it to the mall where Judy bought all that she needed as well as buying a temporary uniform to wear in case they had to actually go do super hero things. Nick bought one for himself too but didn't put much effort into it because he didn't think that they were gonna have any need for it. But after a lot of searching and three hours of shopping Judy had enough clothes to wear for just about any need. She also bought herself a new backpack considering her last one went up with her apartment. After the shopping they dropped the bags at home before leaving for Nicks secret mammal, Nick told his parents that they were just going on a walk and would be back for dinner shutting the door before they could respond.

"Okay so how far is this mammal of yours?" Judy asked once they were alone at the front of his house.

"They are actually just down the road" Nick said pointing to the large house near the end of his street, it was a very modern looking house with a front gate and everything. Once they were there Nick buzzed on the console just outside the gate,

"Hello, do you have an appointment?" A fancy looking tiger popped up on the console,

"Uh no just here to see an old friend" Nick said looking at the camera, the tiger searched on his paper before shaking his head,

"I'm sorry sir but I can't let yo-"

"Shut up would you, get out of my way I want to see who it is" came a high pitched voice, suddenly a tiny mole popped up on the screen. She stared at the screen in confusion for a bit before realizing who she was looking at, she let out a gasp as soon as she recognized his face,

"My god you have gotten big, come in come in" the mole said turning away from the screen and waking off. The gate opened soon after and the duo made their way to the front door.

"Uh Nick who exactly are we meeting?" Judy asked curiously still confused at what she just saw.

"She's a family friend, she also used to be my baby sitter when I was younger and my parents would go out and do super hero things, so I know them pretty well" Nick said reaching out to knock on the door, which opened just before he could hit it, revealing the small mole wearing a fancy black suit dress and wearing big circular glasses.

"Nicky Darling!" The mole screamed grabbing ahold of the fox pulling him into a tight hug. After a few moments of struggling Nick finally got enough air to respond.

"It's good to see you too Edna" he wheezed through the hug. The mole soon released Nick, allowing him to catch his breath and stand up.

"Who is this?" The mole asked seeing Judy.

"Edna this is Judy Hopps. Carrots this is Edna Mole," he said. Judy stepped up and waved, Edna looked her over before pulling Nick down again,

"Is she your girlfriend?" Edna whispered into his ear, Nick smirked looking over at his bunny,

"Yes, yes she is" Edna released him and paced around Judy searching every square inch of her as if evaluating her for a military inspection,

"Hm Nicky she is pretty, you made a good choice", she then reached out her paw which Judy gladly took, "It is a pleasure to meet you darling"

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Mole," Judy said with a smile on her face,

"Please call me Edna I'm not that old, now come, come we have much to talk about" Edna said turning into the house, the two followed close behind.

On the other side of the door was a long corridor with suits on either side, she didn't recognize most of them but near the end of the hallway a pair of suits caught her eye. One was a form fitting suit made to show off the strength of whoever war it, while the other one was sleek and hugged the model. Both of them had hoods and masks to cover the face of the mammal wearing them, they were both the same color, a dark black accented by streaks of colors, the bigger one being red and the sleek one being blue. Judy stared up at them in wonder not noticing Edna walk up behind her.

"I see you have found the suits of Nicks parents" she said surprising Judy,

"I knew I recognized them somewhere" she said turning back to look at them,

"Yes, they first came to me when I was a simple clothes designer and asked if I could help them in secret. Originally I didn't have the material to make anything other than a disguise but I worked with different things such as Kevlar and other meshes, and now I make suits for hero's from all around the world. And then when they had Nick they were often busy saving the day so I would take him down to the lab and design suits for him, but when he didn't develop powers I scrapped all the ideas." The smile on her face vanished when she thought about how unfortunate Nick was, to have his parents be such icons but he could never live up to them.

"But that all changes now" Nicks voice called from behind both of them, Edna looked at him confused,

"Edna I'm saying my powers are finally coming in" Nick said chuckling at the moles confusion. She let out a huge gasp and ran up to Nick squealing with joy pulling him into yet another tight hug.

"I KNEW IT! I knew they would come in eventually. What powers do you have, I can start making a suit immediately. How long have you had them, and your parents didn't tell me. Oh they are gonna hear from me!" Edna yelled pulling out her phone, Nick was quick to stop her from dialing their number causing Edna to look up at him again with confusion.

"I actually haven't told them yet and I don't think I can, the only mammals who know right now are me, you, and Judy. And with our current situation I can't have anyone else knowing or it could put them at risk" Edna's face became serious at Nicks words.

"Is someone after you Nicky?" Edna asked, her voice laced with venom. Nick knew she cared very much for him and would something boneheaded if he told her who it was.

"Sort of, they really just want my powers. But that's not important, me and Carrots here have it taken care of" Nicks eyes were pleading for her not to be mad or do anything she would regret.

"Alright I trust that you will get it taken care of. Now, you're gonna need a suit to do all of this" she then looked over at Judy who standing to the side quietly, "Do you have powers too?"

"Yeah but the-" Judy started responding,

"You can come too" She waved Judy to follow. The mole led them out of the hallway and into a large open room before heading down stairs and into the basement where the lab was. After scanning her eyes and having a gun nearly shoot Judy to smithereens they walked in into the large room full of gadgets and materials. The lights were dim and it was primarily illuminated by computer screens and other lights glowing on the machines. Edna took a seat at a small table grabbing a clipboard and signaling to Nick and Judy to sit across from her.

"Okay Judy we will start with you, first and most importantly what are your powers?" Edna asked peaking over her glasses, a pencil in her hand ready to write down what she heard.

"Well I have the ability to control other mammals, uhm the ability to create a link between me and another mammal so we can communicate through our minds, and then I can also mess with mammals minds or help them when they are distressed" Judy said, talking about it out loud sounded a lot more silly then she expected. Edna quickly wrote everything down, putting the end of the pencil in her mouth while she thought.

"And you do this primarily with?"

"My hands, I primarily use my hands"

"Got it, I can already see what material we should use as well as the colors. For a bunny you have a rather good shape so I will make you something form fitting to make it easier for you to move" Edna's words caused Judy's ears to heat up, she looked over at Nick to see him smirking, quirking his eyebrows as a joke causing her ears to heat up even more.

"Alright that is all we will need for this moment now it's your turn Nick, what powers do you have?" She asked looking with wonder at Nick.

"I'm not sure how many I have honestly but ever since I first noticed something was different, my senses have been turned up so I notice more than the average fox. When I'm unconscious I have the power to kind of leave my own body and take others out as well, and then I also have enhanced strength. Oh and also this one time I ran pretty quickly but that was when my adrenaline was going and I wasn't really I my own head." Nick said. The surprise one Edna's face worried him for a moment,

"Nicky you have all those powers and you're not done developing, you are going to be-"

"One of the most powerful mammals in the world?" Nick finished her sentence,

"Yes, this is incredible. And that is the reason you are developing so late is because your body needs time to figure out what to do with this much power" Edna said. Nick simply shrugged, he didn't question her logic as it was the only logic he had heard that made even a little bit of sense.

"I have been designing a suit for something like this. I didn't know who it would be but I am glad it is you" Edna said picking up a remote and pressing a button. A door opened from the wall revealing a suit that was like none other that Nick had seen. It was made out of a black material that was darker than night itself, the material itself was made of interlocking hexagons and had grey stripes running along the side, waist, and neck as well as having a grey foot coverings. It was sleek in design but not revealing in anyway. In Nicks eyes it was perfect as he stood up and stepped towards it.

"I have been working on this for years, I struggled to find a mix of materials that could work for someone of extraordinary ability. But just a year ago I figured it out, Kevlar threading allowing a mammal to take hits from just about anything without piercing through, a light poly mesh so that it is form fitting yet breathable and won't burn if exposed to intense friction, and then a copper expanding threading that allows it to stretch and grow with whatever form the mammal requires. It is perfect for you and I used you as a model because I started this back when I was still baby sitting you, it may need a few alterations because you have grown quite a bit since I've last seen you but it is a sign that this one was made for you!" Edna was giddy as she explained her work. The feeling of the suit on Nicks paw was mesmerizing, it felt amazing to touch. It was soft yet rigid, and when he pinched and pulled the material stretched out with ease.

"It is perfect" Nick confirmed, it was everything Nick could have hoped for in a suit.

"Of course it is darling I made it" Edna said walking over to Judy, "Come with me Judy and I will get your measurements, Nicky dear can you try it on so I can see what I need to alter"

The two mammals walked back and out into one of the dressing rooms while Nick unzipped the suit and took it to the other dressing room. He quickly stripped down to his boxers, he knew it was gonna be tight but didn't want to leave his manhood exposed. Slipping his legs into the suit he knew already that it was going to be to small, the material stretched but not enough to make it comfortable. He looked at himself in the mirror and surprised to see that it didn't fit that badly. Then again his boxers could be seen through the material and even with them on he could see the imprint of his manhood. Nick wasn't the most in shape mammal either but this suit really brought out his skinny frame. Once he was done checking himself out he stepped out of the dressing room to see the two other mammals waiting for him.

Nick was quick to bring a paw down to cover it so that they couldn't see how revealing the suit was. Judy had gotten a look at it however before he could cover up and her face and ears quickly heated up.

"That tight hmm?" Edna asked, it was nothing she hadn't seen before considering she used to change his diapers. "Let me go ahead and mark up what needs to be fixed and I will do it as quick as I can"

The mole quickly marked off the areas where it needed more material and had Nick take it off once she was done. Once he was back in his normal clothes they talked to Edna for a few more minutes before Nicks phone rang. It was a call from his parents telling him dinner was ready, so they said their goodbyes and promised to come visit again before heading home. They had spent several hours there and when they left darkness had fallen and there was a chill in the air again.

Nick looked down at his rabbit and smiled thinking of a way to tease her, luckily he had noticed her look down when he was exposed,

"Hey Fluff, I saw you look down there earlier. Did you like what you saw?" His emerald eyes glinted in the moonlight full of mischief. He could see her ears turn red with embarrassment and gave him a solid punch on his arm, and of course it was his bad arm. He was caught between laughing and whimpering in pain as they walked up to the front of the house.

"I'm not sorry about that" she said opening the door but stopped just before walking in, "and to answer your question, yes I did" she said with a smirk before placing a kiss on his nose. She then turned away and walked into the house leaving Nick out front.

'She is gonna be the death of me'

* * *

Another chapter another two days. This story just passed 10,000 views, THAT'S INSANE! Thank each and everyone of you for giving this a read it really means a lot to me. This chapter was a little slower yes but we will pick up with action again soon. If you have any ideas or just want to say hello you can PM me, if you liked it please stick around because chapters are coming out very consistently every two days. I already have a majority of the ending planned out and can't wait to show it to all of you. As far as the status of whats all going on, it seems the U.S. is about to hit the worst week for most deaths and new cases but I think as a nation and world we will get through this. If you have lost anyone close to you from this disease then just know that you and your family are in my thoughts. Go wash your hands, wear a face mask, and protect the elderly!


	20. Chapter 19: First Night Out

The first night was just how Nick imagined it would be. Him and Judy spent most of the night just cuddling in his bed, it was great until his parents walked in and told them it was time to separate. It was a heartfelt goodbye as she left to go just down the hall. It was actually strange knowing that Judy wasn't a fifteen minute walk away, he felt that he no longer had to worry about her being attacked by anyone in her sleep. For the first time in a long time Nick fell asleep peacefully by himself.

It was the best sleep Nick had gotten since his first meeting with Magnus, actually since the start of school. And he awoke on his own to the smell of breakfast being made, he knew that smell anywhere, because his dad was the only one who could make the perfect blueberry pancakes that smelled like heaven. Nick put on some clothes (he normally slept in just his boxers) and went out to see that he was actually the last one to wake up, Judy was up wearing a large shirt and some sweat pants while his parents were already up and ready for the day.

"Good morning Nick", his dad called from the kitchen. Judy looked over and gave Nick a smile giving a smirk in response. There was something about waking up and seeing his favorite mammal that made Nicks heart flutter. "Do you want some pancakes?" His dad asked not looking up from the stove.

"Did you really just ask that" Nick asked jokingly. He took a seat next to Judy who was already eating a stack, his dad soon brought him over a stack of hot pancakes and a bottle of syrup. Nick took the bottle and started pouring it out all over the pancakes. He continued to pore until they were sufficiently soaked which to Judy seemed like way too much syrup.

"Jeez slick you gonna eat some pancakes with your syrup" she asked in a mocking fashion. Nick put his paw to his chest in mock offense.

"Carrots this is the proper amount of syrup for a mammal of my size, just because it seems like a lot to you doesn't mean its a lot for me" he said hoping to fluster her a bit. She just shook her head and went back to her breakfast while Nick dug into his pancakes, letting the fluffy, syrup soaked, blueberry filled cakey sheets of dough cover his tongue. The flavor blew his mind every time, bringing back memories of his childhood when his parents would be very busy and they were rarely there in the morning because they would be on the other side of town destroying a robot or something like that. He swallowed the pancakes letting out a content sigh.

Sirens blared and lights flashed interrupting Nicks happiness, 'oh great here we go' he thought to himself as his parents moved into action.

"What's happening?" Judy asked after jumping from the suddenness of the alarm.

"It's the alarm system we have, it means a mammal is in trouble somewhere. It used to go off all the time, but now its rare, only going off for life or death situations." Nick said going back to his pancakes, this was just the norm for him while for Judy this was completely new. The two adults in the room walked towards the tv stand opening a fancy looking box revealing a button. Edward pressed the button causing the entire wall to open up, behind the wall were to polls that led down to the cave. Amelia let out a sigh, shaking her head and rubbing her face with her paws.

"I can't wait to retire" she said grabbing one of the polls and sliding down. Edward grabbed the poll but stopped before sliding down, turning to look at the two teens he was leaving,

"We will be back as soon as we can kids you take care of yourself and no canoodling, got it?" He asked, the two mammals nodded in response, "good see you later". He dropped down the poll and out of sight, the walls went back into place and the sirens and lights turned off, like nothing ever happened.

It didn't take them much longer to finish the pancakes, cleaning up the mess that Edward had left for them. Once all of the dishes were cleaned and put away Nick sat down on the couch taking out his phone to start enjoying his Sunday. Judy came around and jumped on the couch next to him,

"So Nick what do you normally do on a day like today?" She leaned into him and looked up at him with her big violet eyes. Nick looked down at her amused,

"Well I would normally do some homework, sleep a bit, and then just sit here the rest of the day" he said returning his attention back to his phone. A gray paw nudged his phone down before reaching up towards his muzzle turning his head to face her.

"How about we do something else?" Nick took notice of how her eyes were half lidded and she was nibbling lightly on her lip. He couldn't contain himself for much longer as he pulled her into a kiss. It was deep and passionate, Nick grabbed her carefully and pulled her into his lap. Her paws roamed his chest, gripping tightly onto his shirt while his hands were wrapped firmly around her behind. Nick opened his eyes as the words of his father rang through his head, "no canoodling" his dad's voice was joking but Nick knew that he was being very serious. He pushed Judy away, her eyes looked at him pleading for him to not stop. He hated to upset her but he knew that his parents could easily find out if they did anything. He took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly,

"We can't do this right now" he said looking down. He could feel her eyes looking at him, she was upset but he knew that she could get over it.

"Why?" Was all she asked hoping she could find a way to persuade him to keep going.

"My parents would somehow end up finding out, and I want them to trust us before we do anything. Once they trust us then we can do whatever we want okay?" Nicks mind went to the first day of school when he found out his dad had been watching him the whole day yet he had no idea. Judy had no idea what he was thinking about but could see the hunger in his eyes so she knew that he must have a good reason for stopping.

"Alright well I need something else to do otherwise stopping is going to be very difficult" she said climbing off of him. Nick sat in silence, thinking of something they could do together. He had to do his homework of course, they had board games but that did not sound like fun at all. They could go for a walk but laziness was getting the better of him. Then Nicks mind thought about what was happening in the week, it was the last week before winter break and this Friday would be the dance that he still had to ask her to go to. 'Wait' Nick thought to himself,

"Hey Carrots, we both know Magnus's plan and I was a key component in that plan but now you know as well. Do you think they will change the plan because of that?" Nick asked. They must need to change the plan, how else would they get the box into the school without an inside students help.

"That's a good point, I mean they had been making that gas for years right? I'm guessing they won't just stop because two teens know about it"

"So that means everyone at school is still going to be in danger. We need to see if they have a new plan or not, but I'll be damned if I'm ever going back to that place" the thought of even setting foot in that compound again made Nicks stomach flip. Seeing all those mammals being held there just for testing, to lose their powers and never see their families or loved ones again…

"I may know a mammal that can help us" Judy said taking out her phone. Nick scoffed at her,

"Carrots how do you know so man mammals, I'm the one who's supposed to know everyone" he said, Judy merely smirked as she typed her text.

"Well first of all I talk to a mammals and try to make friends with everyone, that definitely helps. Second of all this one is an old friend who lives in the city, he's a pretty techy mammal but he knows what he's talking about" Judy said.

"An old friend?"

"Yes he's from Bunny Burrow, we were best friends growing up but fell apart when I got my powers and our paths just kind of separated, I haven't seen him in person in almost three years" she said looking up and into the distance as if having a flashback in her mind. Nick watched her with amusement as she continued to just stare off into space. When her phone went off and she still didn't respond he waved a paw in front of her face.

"Uh hello, earth to fluff" she finally snapped out of it and blushed as she realized that she really just drifted off that badly. Her phone went off again and this time she did pick it up and read it,

"Perfect, he can meet us tonight by the wall outside Sahara Square" she said putting her phone aside,

"That is perfect, except for the fact that we have school tomorrow morning"

"It's okay this mammal is quick, very quick and he might be the best at what he does" Judy said confidently.

"I sure hope so because we are going to have to sneak out unless my parents don't comeback tonight" the pair got up and began prepping all that they would need for the night adventure. Because they would be out using their powers most likely, they thought it was a good idea to take their temporary suits with them just to protect their identity. They planned to just walk to the wall because it wasn't that far from their current location and it would help them from being tracked, with Nicks knowledge of the city and the alleys that seemed more like a maze, they could avoid being followed if things came down to that.

By the time they finished planning it was about six, the sun was just about to set over the horizon and darkness would soon follow. The two separated and made sure to do all the school work they had before it was time to go, if they didn't they would have one hell of a night when they got back. At this point Nicks parents hadn't come back yet, they were both hungry as well no he thought he would show off just how good of a boyfriend he was.

Judy was hard at work in her room studying up on her basic situational solving class that she had a test for in two days when a delicious smell caught her nose. She poked her head out of her room and into the kitchen to see Nick with an apron on in front of the stove. An idea sprung into her head as she silently snuck towards him. The fox could sense she was there but chose not to say anything as she slowly walked towards him, he let her have her fun until she was just behind him. He turned around so fast that she had no time to react as he grabbed her and spun her around. All she could was let out a surprised scream and hang on tight as he spun, unknown to either of them was the wall lifting up behind them and his parents walking in. 

"You thought you could sneak up on me?" Nick said teasingly, poking at Judy's sides tickling her and causing her to scream out of laughter,

"Stop! Stop please" She screamed through her laughter. She barely opened her eyes but quickly noticed the other two foxes standing there watching quietly.

"Nick, Nick really stop" she whispered to him, trying to bring his attention to the spectators they now had.

"What has someone had too much tickling…" he said looking down at her, their eyes locked but Judy continued to look at something that he had yet to see behind him. Nick followed her line of sight to see his parents standing at the entrance to the cave. He set his bunny down quickly putting his hands behind his back like he was a child getting caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do.

"Uh hey hows it going? How was your day?" He asked with a smile on his face hoping to just get past this embarrassing moment.

"Our day was great but the more important one is how was your day?" Edward asked,

"Well we did homework and I slept and now I'm making dinner" Nick said recounting his very "busy" day, of course leaving out the planning part which actually took up a majority of their day.

"Ah sounds like a really busy day" Amelia said, "well we will go ahead and leave you be, we actually have had a busy day and we're gonna go to sleep early. You both behave okay?" she said walking in the direction of their bed room. Just before entering the door though Edward turned around and pointed two of his fingers at his eyes then pointing them at the two showing the universal symbol for, 'I'm watching you' shutting the door behind him.

"Well this could be a problem" his eyes stared at the door that just closed.

"We're just going to have to sneak out right?" Judy asked looking back up at him.

"Yeah but remember what I said earlier, they have their ways", the smell of food burning brought his attention back to the pans on the stove. "Oh no, not the stir fry!"

Luckily the vegetable stir fry he was making for Judy survived and was enjoyed by both of them. Sure Nick was a predator but he still liked to eat his vegetables now and then. When they were both done they sat on the couch and watched TV, or at least tried to. Nick stared at the clock that was just ticking away as slow as it could, he was nervous. If they didn't find out what Magnus's plan was, then Fridays dance would be a disaster. After what felt like hours, eight o'clock finally showed on the clock meaning it was time to change and go. Their costumes weren't complex but they would definitely protect their identity from being revealed. Nicks costume consisted of dark sweatpants and a black hoodie that covered his ears hiding the fact that he was a fox, he wore shoes as well which were very uncomfortable because he never normally wore shoes. Most mammals didn't because of the fact that they had paw pads. And to top it all off he had a mask, it was hard to find but when they searched through a theater store they found one that actually fit him. It was the Phantom of the Opera mask, and while it only covered half of his face it kept his muzzle well hidden enough so that if anyone got a good look they wouldn't know he was a fox.

Meanwhile Judy was wearing something similar with dark black leggings and a similar color hoodie. Shoes in her size didn't exist so instead she bought foot wraps that she could use to cover most of them and also protect her pad less paws. She had to tie her ears back in order to keep them from popping up in her hood, revealing her species. And finally her mask was simply a scarf that she tied around her neck and could bring up to cover everything except her eyes.

Just before they left Nick peaked into his parents room to be sure they were asleep, it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust but when he saw the two forms of his parents under the blankets sleeping, their chests moving up and down with their breathing. He silently shut the door and turned to his awaiting bunny giving her a thumbs up.

They went over to Nicks room and opened the window just enough for the both of them to fit through. Once they were out he closed the window, leaving it cracked so that they could get in when they got back. Then they were off into the he night, they began running through the streets avoiding any and all contact or visuals with any other mammals out at night. The streets were mostly empty because it was a Sunday but they wanted to be sure that if anyone saw them they would mistake it as a shadow. The crisp night air flowed through their hoods, it felt good to Nick, he felt alive. He was after all a nocturnal animal in his base instincts and just being out and moving at night made him feel free. Judy kept a close pace to him as they weaved through the streets, her observant purple eyes taking in all that she could hoping to memorize their routes in case they got separated. Soon the cool air dissipated into warm fresh air as they got closer to Sahara Square. They were sure to avoid the large palm tree casino which would probably still be busy even though it was a week night. After a solid half hour of running they were at the wall, Nick was barely even winded because of his powers, and Judy wasn't winded because she was physically fit for it.

"Okay make the call" Nick said as they waited outside the door. Judy took out her phone and dialed the number, it rung once before the mammal on the other end picked it up.

"I'm here" came the voice from behind Nick. Even with his enhanced senses he didn't notice the mammal standing behind him, as he whirled around startled.

"Jeez why would you sneak up on me like that" Nick said putting his hand to his heart being sure that it was still going.

Judy stepped up and gave the mammal a hug, "its good to see you Jack" she said,

"It's good to see you too" Jack said. Now that he had calmed down Nick got a good look at the mammal, he was a jack rabbit, standing a few inches taller than Judy. He was wearing dark clothes and looked more like a ninja than your average techy mammal, and he had a suitcase with them that probably held all he needed. It was then that he noticed that they were still holding their hug causing him to get upset.

"Um excuse me" Nick said interrupting their moment.

"Oh uh, sorry Nick. This is Jack Savage, one of my oldest friends. Jack this is Nick Wilde my boyfriend." She said. Jack stepped up and reached out his paw,

"Well Nick it's a pleasure to meet you. I must say I'm surprised, out of every mammal she could pick she picked you. Not that that's a problem to me" Jack said as Nick took his paw,

"Yeah thanks, its really great to meet the one who grew up with her. Now is Savage your real last name? Because it sounds awfully fake." Nick said, there was an spark of tension between the two that Nick didn't like. But he also trusted Judy so he knew that he must be good at what he does. Jack let out a laugh at the question,

"Yeah it is a strange name for a rabbit isn't it? But yes that is my real name, it is better than Wilde in my opinion though" Jack said. Judy could feel the tension between the two and quickly stepped in to dissolve it,

"Anyways, Jack do you have the thing?" She asked, the jack rabbit nodded in response, "Alright Nick now its your turn to make the call" she said turning to Nick. The fox sighed, pulling out his phone,

"Why do I have to call him? He already doesn't like me" Nick said dialing the number. The phone rang for much longer then Judy's call, but was picked up none the less.

"Who is this?" Came the gruffly voice of chief Bogo, he clearly had been trying to sleep by the sound of his voice.

"Sorry to disturb you at this hour chief, but we're about to cross the wall at Sahara Square" Nick said,

"Wilde? You better have a good explanation for this and I expect to hear it when you have the chance" the chief said getting aggravated at what little he was being told.

"I will, I promise"

"Alright I'll be sure to overlook the alarm that's about to go off, good luck" and with that the call was over. Nick put his phone away and looked at the two in front of him,

"We're good to go, follow me and stay close" Nick opened the door and walked in followed by the two rabbits, he retraced his steps from the way they came just a day and a half ago, the heat just as unbearable as it was that day. While he was walking all of the memories from that night came crashing through his mind, the electricity, the gas, the power draining beam, and of course the bullet that went through his arm. By now the bullet wound was healed but he could still feel it if he pushed on it.

Coming out on the other side the cold hit them hard, they weren't protected from the warmth of the wall, and coming out from the hot temperatures of the wall this cold was like a strong punch to the gut.

"Alright Savage its your time to shine" Nick said turning around to look at him and crossing his arms. Jack stopped once outside, set the suitcase on the ground and opened it. On the inside of the suitcase was so much tech that Nick had to do a double take to try and figure out what he was looking at. Nick was in a class that was made to teach hero's what these things were but he still couldn't tell what he was looking at.

"Savage what is it that you do?" Nick asked in awe at the amount of gadgets in the small suitcase. The jack rabbit looked up at him and smirked, happy to finally have the upper hand on the smug fox.

"Well I'm currently in training with the ZBI's tech department" Jack said pulling out a large drone from the bag. Nick hated to say it but he was actually impressed, Judy was smiling as she already knew all this and was proud of her old friend. "Now which way is this compound?" He asked taking out what looked like virtual reality goggles and putting them on his head. He then grabbed a controller and started up the drone, looking through the goggles to see what the drone saw.

"It is in that direction but I can't tell you how far, it was extremely late when we started walking" Judy said pointing towards where they walked from the other day. Jack took notice of which direction she pointed at and then started up the drone, it then shot up into the sky and took off towards the compound. The group sat in silence as they waited to see if Jack could find it, during the time Nick got a good look at Judy who was looking at him.

"I look ridiculous don't I?" Nick asked taking off his mask and looking at it.

"Yes, yes you do" Jack responded first not even looking at him, Judy shook her head at the consistent negativity between the two.

"You look fine Nick, and if you keep wearing your hood no one will ever know" Judy said walking over and putting a paw on his arm. The fox wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her but with Jack there he didn't want to tempt it.

"I've got it" he said taking off the goggles and pulling out two more sets of the headset handing them to the him and Judy, "sorry Nick I didn't know I was gonna need a fox sized set, but they should work"

Nick put the goggles up to his head but they were so small that he couldn't get them around his muzzle, so he was stuck with putting them just over his snout and squinting through it.

"Great thanks" he said sarcastically. Looking through the goggles he saw the compound, it was much larger than he remembered. The waterfall cascading around the building before dropping off into nothingness. The drove then started moving towards the compound, mammals could be seen scouting all around the building as well as some on the roof. Eventually the drone was next to the building,

"How do you plan on getting in?" Judy asked,

"I have my ways" Jack said. The drone approached one of the windows and went sideways sticking on to the side like a spider. An arm with a razor blade came out and starting cutting a circle on the glass, and with a little thrust from the drone the circle of glass broke off allowing the drone to fly in. Once again Nick was impressed but didn't say anything.

"Let me know when you see something so I can follow them" Jack said. The drone navigated its way through the compound not passing anyone yet.

"Aren't they going to hear the drone" Nick asked,

"No, currently it is running on silent mode, it's propellers spin just enough to keep it up but to mammals near it they never hear it." Jack said,

'Of course, he's got an answer for everything' Nick thought to himself. Eventually mammals passed by on the screen but didn't notice the drone that was flying just over their head. It turned a corner to see the open room that Nick recognized as where he woke up and was told the plan. Now it was full of several mammals and a small stage. On the stage was the mammal of the hour, Magnus, while the audience consisted of five of her guards. A lynx, a tiger, a lion, a wolf, and a brown bear who stood much taller than any of the other mammals.

"Because of what happened two nights ago our plan has to change, we can no longer depends on Nick Wilde, however that does not change the fact that we still need him alive" Magnus was speaking to the group.

"Savage can you record this" Nick asked. He pushed a button and a red circle appeared in the corner of the screen meaning it was recording.

"Judy Hopps is now another subject that I would like to remain alive, I have wonderful plans for the both of them. Do I make myself clear?"

"YES MAGNUS" the five mammals chanted in sync,

"Now the plan will consist of you five. On Friday you will get into Sky high when the air conditioning "breaks" you will get on a secret van that they will provide, that will bring you up to the school where you will bring boxes containing the machine and gas. Now all you really have to do is attach the machine and that will be it, but because the school is so high we can't remotely activate it so two of you will have to stay up there to actuate it and then escape with parachutes. If something goes wrong I will be on call, but if you call me that will be sign of weakness and I will not wait to show you just what I do with weakness" she concluded, "Sargent Grizz will take lead on this mission and decide your roles. You are dismissed." She pointed at the bear and then walked off the stage disappearing into the darkness.

"Is that enough information for you?" Jack asked. They now knew what the plan was and who the mammals were that would be enacting it.

"Yeah that's plenty you can get out now" as soon as Nick said that the drone backed out through the halls right back out the window, when it was clear Jack hit the 'return to home' button and took off his goggles. "Wow, nothing has gone this smoothly since I got my powers. Thanks for this Jack, actually." Nick said sincerely handing back his goggles.

"It's no problem, this was a piece of cake. I hope that you two can use this info to your advantage" he said packing his bags.

"Oh we can, you might have just helped us save a bunch of mammals from losing their powers." Judy said.

"Well I'm glad I could help", the drone soon came back and landed right where it originally took off. Once Jack had everything packed away the group went back through the door and into the city, when they came out into Sahara Square they separated from Jack who had to return to the ZBI headquarters before they knew any of their things were missing. Now they were alone running silently through the night once again.

They were nearly back in Savannah central when a sound hit Nicks ears' the sound of screaming and crying. Judy could hear it too, but with her ears tied behind her head it made hearing difficult. Nick looked down at her and silently signaled with his head that they should go check it out, getting a nod in response. Listening carefully, they ran down the road stopping just outside the entrance to an alley. Carefully being sure to not be spotted Nick peaked in to see a group of four mammals holding up two other mammals, the five mammals were all hooded but were rather large, the tallest one being the size of a wolf. The two mammals being threatened were a vixen and a lamb.

"Listen ladies, we just want a taste. Nothing more nothing less" the mammal in front flicked out a knife holding it up to the vixen. Nick leaned back having seen enough,

"There are five mid sized mammals threatening a vixen and a lamb, we need to do something." He said quietly being sure not to be heard.

"Okay well if I can get in and create a link then I can fight and you can go in too." Judy said,

"Alright, you sneak in create a link and act natural until I step in got it?" He asked, Judy nodded and stepped around the corner hiding behind a dumpster, she reached her paw up and touched the leg of the mammal closest to her, the mammal she linked with had no idea as their mind was shut off and replaced with Judy's. Nicks heart was racing, this was a first for him as he stepped around the corner. He willingly released his power letting its energy surge through him, his goal was to come off as intimidating as possible so instead of just calling out he let his aura make the mammals feel his presence before letting out low growl.

"HEY!" It came out as a snarl more than his voice, his call caught the attention of everyone in the alley, who looked over to see a rather small mammal.

There was something about him that put everyone there on edge, like he could attack at any moment, but he was so small none of them were afraid. In fact the one with the knife laughed stepping away from the two ladies,

"Look at this boys we got a little brave man here," he said walking even closer to Nick, the feeling got stronger but that didn't stop him, "Listen kid why don't you walk on home before a make a lesson out of you?"

Nick held his ground not stepping away as the mammal, who he could tell was a tiger, and the knife got closer.

"Let them go" Nick said is a deep rough voice pointing over at the two mammals, his growl under that voice made him sound like a completely different mammal. The tiger followed his finger, landing on the two mammals cowering against the wall.

"Well you see buddy, I can't exactly do that. You see big grown mammals like me and the rest of these guys, we have urges that need to be fed and right now they are looking really tasty. Maybe someday you will understand." The tiger pat his back and started to walk away. Nick grabbed his arm using his strength to stop the tiger in his tracks, the tigers head whipped around surprised by the small mammals strength.

"Let them go, I'm not asking again"

"So that's how its gonna be" the tiger whistled calling out to the other mammals to help take care of him.

The tiger swung with the knife, aiming for Nicks head. The fox ducked pulling the tiger down with him flipping him over and behind him. Everyone watching stared in surprised at what they just saw, someone of that size throwing a tiger over their shoulder like it was nothing losing his knife in the process.

The tiger got up slowly, looking up at everyone else and becoming enraged at them all just standing still,

"Don't just stand there, get him!" He yelled. Judy (in the wolves body) then made her move, grabbing the mammal closest to her smashing their head against the wall knocking them unconscious.

Nick turned to the tiger who was now back up rubbing off the dirt from his clothes. Two of the mammals behind him grabbed his arms, the move was so unexpected that he didn't notice the tiger step up and swing. His fist contacted his face, cracking his mask and sending his hood off in the process. The fox didn't feel a thing though as adrenaline pumped though his veins. He picked up his foot dropping it down on the mammal to his right with all his might, the mammal let go grabbing at his foot, Nick swung his elbow connecting it to his head sending him into the wall. Nick took the mammal on his other side taking his arm bringing it up and straight into his face, breaking his snout and knocking him unconscious in the process. The tiger swung again, Nick ducked underneath taking a shot at the tigers ribs. When he made contact he could feel a crack on the inside of his body causing the tiger to let out a cry of pain, falling to his knees.

Nick stepped up to him grabbing him by his collar,

"No please I'm sorry we will leave them alone, just please stop" the tiger begged. The fox pulled back and prepared to punch the tiger out cold when a voice stopped him,

"Hey you". Nick turned to see a wolf standing over and protecting the two mammals, he knew it was Judy and was thankful that she didn't say his name. Nick turned to tiger and knocked him unconscious in a painless way. Returning his attention to the wolf,

'Nick I'm going to leave this body, when I wake up you need to take him out' Judy said in his mind.

'Okay' Nick responded

The wolf then shook its head as if waking up from some weird dream, Nick looked over to see Judy standing up. The fox ran up to the last wolf kicking him square in the chest sending him flying into the back wall, cracking the cement as he landed on the ground. He then walked over to the two cowering mammals, reigning in on his powers so they wouldn't be afraid,

"Are you two okay?" He asked ,still with his deep gruff voice.

The vixen stood up first, she was pretty young, maybe around Nicks age or slightly older, the lamb looking the same age.

"Yeah we're okay, thanks to you" the vixen said. Nick could tell easily that she had seen his ears and head, so she knew he was a fox. He could tell that she was trying to flirt with the way she was standing and flashing her eyes.

"And me" Judy walked out from behind the dumpster. The vixen noticeably deflated at the sight of the smaller mammal.

"Well thank you both, so much. Do you have names?" The vixen asked,

"That's unimportant. You didn't see us, we were never here. And also call the police they can take care of these guys so they won't mess with anyone ever again" Nick said turning and walking out of the alley followed close behind by Judy. Once they were out of the alley they took off down the road, sirens sounding in the distance.

The room was dark, the only light coming in was front the window. The light grew as the window opened, two mammals piling in, and closing it behind them. They took off their hoods revealing Nick and Judy panting for breath. The two sat in silence on the floor until Nick grabbed Judy pulling her into a hug,

"We did it" the fox let out a breath. The duo separated, taking off their costumes and showering (separately of course). By the time they were all cleaned and in their pajamas it was eleven at night, and Nicks parents were still asleep. They sat at on the couch, embracing each other and watching the TV, Nick holding the remote flipping through the channels.

"Wait Nick go back" Judy interrupted, Nick did as she said flipping back to the previous channel. It was the news channel, nothing out of the ordinary until he read the headline.

'Mystery Hero Duo Saves Two Females From Five Thugs'

Nick stared at it in shock, "its been less then an hour how does the news already know" he asked. He turned up the volume as the ocelot reporter started talking,

"Yes Peter I am out here on scene where this scuffle occurred, none of the thugs were killed but all were left unconscious and are now in police custody. We have here with us the two women who were the ones being attacked" the camera then panned over to the vixen and lamb that they had saved, "can you tell us anything about the mammals that saved you?" The microphone then went to the vixen,

"Yes, I know for a fact that both of them are around our age and I'm eighteen, that's not even the most surprising part. I didn't get a good look at the short one, other than fact that it was a female and she had violet eyes, and I had no idea they were there at first, but I think they were controlling one of the attackers because one of the five took a wolf out and then protected us. But the other mammal I got a good look at him because of his hood falling down, he was a fox wearing a mask from that one play its um… oh yes phantom of the opera. He took out three of them alone, and he was super strong for his size because he was tossing mammals twice his size all over the place. It was truly incredible, and whoever they are I hope they know that me and my friend here are truly grateful for them because we might not of made it out of there alive" the camera then panned back to the ocelot who looked back into the camera.

"Well you heard it here first folks, a Violet Vigilante and a Phantom Fox save the day. Could these two be the replacements for Scarlet Fang and The Wild One, who have been Zootopia's hero's for over twenty years? More in thirty minu-" Nick shut off the TV.

"Oh my gosh, they know I'm a fox." Nick said,

"It's okay they didn't describe us in much detail, I think we will be okay." Judy said squeezing onto him so that he wouldn't freak out.

"Carrots, no one even knows that that my parents are foxes, we are looked down upon so much that they never wanted to reveal their species. But on my first save I get discovered." Nick said looking down his eyes full of fear.

"Nick, you no one can take away the fact that you saved those two mammals lives, if being a fox makes them dislike you then they are in the wrong" Judy said with determination. Nick thought about it, 'she's right, she's right' he thought trying to relax. Another thought entered his mind causing him to chuckle.

"You know actually kind of like the name Phantom Fox…"

 **Gang, this chapter took a little longer than I was expecting which is why it is coming out at 3 in the morning. I hope you like this one, even though it starts slow it certainly does end with some exciting stuff. I hope you enjoyed it, reviews and favorites and follows are greatly appreciated. Right now we are hitting the hardest week in the caronavirus, but because of the social distancing the curve is flattening and we are going to make it through this. Keep distancing, keep washing your hands, keep being awesome!**


	21. Chapter 20: Time Is Up

The alarm blared in Nicks ear, he felt like he had been tossing and turning all night thinking about the last night and what was to come by the end of the week. His bloodshot eyes glared over at the electronic box making the noise, reaching over and shutting it off. He rubbed his paws against his face, grumbling to himself about how he hated being a nocturnal mammal. Sleepy emerald eyes searched the room, looking for everything he would need for the day. His eyes landed on the large piece of poster board that he bought a week ago in order to ask Judy to the winter dance.

'Ugh, I really need to do that before its too late' he thought to himself, getting out of his bed. He quickly got changed and ready for the day before leaving his room to grab breakfast. Once again the rabbit was already up and eating breakfast, she turned when she heard his door close,

"Good morning Slick" she said through a mouth full of lucky chomps.

"Carrots, you should learn to not speak when your mouth is full of food" the fox said with a smirk. Nick went into the cupboard and grabbed a bowl, pouring himself a bowl of the sugar coated cereal. The two sat in silence enjoying their meal and sitting next to each other, Nicks parents had yet to wake up yet as they normally slept in till they were called in for a save.

The two eventually finished and left for school, taking the bus and getting up to Sky High. There was something refreshing to Nick about coming back after his crazy weekend, like all his worries were mostly forgotten. That is, until he stepped into the school. He could tell something was off, much more than normal. They weren't really paying attention to him but with his senses he could tell what they were talking about.

"Who do you think the Phantom Fox is?"

"Do you think he's really a fox?"

"I don't know but if it is a fox I don't trust him. All foxes are sly and liars, in fact I bet you that it was some hustle that was set up"

"Wait there's only one fox in this school can't we all figure out who they are?"

"And what about the Violet Vigilante, who are they?"

All through the halls this is what he heard, there were equal amounts of skepticism and respect from what the fox heard. And to be honest he didn't blame them because he was a fox and the image that some of his own species set was not a good one, but he could change that. Sure his parents could hide their species but his was out in the open and he was becoming more okay with it. He saw Wolford at his locker and decided to see if he had heard anything.

"Hey Wolfie, what's everybody going on about?"

"Oh everyone is all hyped out about some new super hero duo, The Phantom Fox and The Violet Vigilante. Personally I think its all just some media ploy because their getting bored of Scarlet Fang and the Wild One" The wolf said closing his locker. Nick put on his best acting face, nudging Judy to do the same,

"Wait did you say fox? This guy really let his species out that early? He must be crazy." Nick said

"Yeah and what kind of name is Violet Vigilante, if they saved lives how does that make them a vigilante" Judy, who's acting could have won her a Pawscar award, scratched her head in confusion.

"I don't know that's what the news said last night and this morning" Wolford said. The bell of course interrupted any further conversation and signaled for them to head to their first class. The trio split up, Nick and Wolford saying bye to Judy as they walked to their class.

"Nick did you really not know about Phantom Fox?" Wolford asked as they walked into the classroom.

"I mean I don't watch the news, its just a bunch of mumbo jumbo" Nick said taking his seat in the back of class.

"Hey fox!" Someone yelled from the other side of the classroom. Nick looked over at who called out to see a rhino looking at him, "How do you feel about a fox saving the day? I bet its something you wish you could do." He said,

"Oh yeah definitely, running around in a leotard, having to keep your identity a secret. Of course this guys smart, whoever he is. Letting the world know what species he is even if it wasn't on purpose, I'm sure it takes a lot of the pressure. I mean who knows Scarlet Fang or Wild One could be foxes for all we know" Nick said, the only mammals in the room who knew that they were in fact foxes were Nick and Wolford, the wolf cracking up at what Nick said knowing that he was playing the rest of the class like a fiddle.

"Ha there's no way they are foxes, they've been doing this city good for years. They're probably, uh I don't know wolves. Heck Willy over here could probably be related to them and not know." The rhino said pointing over to Wolford, who laughed at the rhino's insinuation.

"Have you ever seen those two in person, they are small, they could honestly be rabbits and be related to Judy Hopps for all we know." The wolf said in response. Soon everyone was throwing out their ideas of who the two super hero's were, meanwhile Nick just sat back and soaked in the confusion watching as any trail leading to him was washed away.

The conversations were interrupted by Mrs. Rollae entering the class, no one wanted to over step their boundaries around her because her scream was deafening, as she demonstrated several times so far in the year.

"Good morning class, due to recent occurrences outside of school and the introduction of two new super hero's into the Zootopia area we are going to watch what the chief of police says in todays press conference. Be sure to pay attention, wherever you are deployed you will have to get to know your chief of police. Lucky for whoever these two mammals are, the chief of police here is a strong yet fair leader" she said rolling out a TV currently showing an awaiting crowd in front of a podium. From the side of the screen came the large Cape buffalo that everyone knew and loved (well one out of two ain't bad).

"Good morning to everyone, I am speaking today about the events that occurred last night. The attack on two ladies just a few blocks away here in Savannah Central. Luckily, the only mammals harmed in this attack were the attackers, who were mammals part of a street gang known as the Predatorias. These mammals were taken down by two unknown mammals of special ability, or supers. Although we don't know the real names of these two mammals we do know one of their species, their gender, and we have a rough estimate of their age from witness reports. We have decided to use the names that have been coined by the media, Phantom Fox and Violet Vigilante. Now aside from all this, I am not one for vigilante justice but considering there was an absence of ZPD presence I would like to thank them personally if they are watching this. Now I will take any questions." Paws quickly shot up, everyone there hoping they can get their answer.

"Chief Bogo, with more vigilante justice rising up what will the ZPD change?" Came a question from a camel in the front row,

"There won't be much change, we will still not have any vigilante justice but having an arrest for said crime is very difficult as we need evidence and witness reports, also it is up to me whether the justice was needed at all. Which why Wild One and Scarlet Fang are still out there saving lives. Next question."

"Considering in the past twenty years neither Wild One or Scarlet Fang have ever told anyone their species, how do you feel about Phantom Fox letting his out so soon?" A new reporter asked.

"Well I have no bias towards any mammals, bias in the ZPD could be dangerous which is why none of my officers are. And as far as this fox, I'm sure he didn't mean to reveal that information, perhaps it was during the fight that his disguise came off. As far as what happens next with him, I hope he can keep the rest of his identity hidden." Chief Bogo finished before stepping back, "I now pass on the podium to Zootopia's own hero's Wild One and Scarlet Fang as they have some words they would like to say regarding these two mammals." The chief stepped back from the podium and off to the side where two masked mammals then walked up. Nicks jaw dropped as soon as he saw the two enter the screen, Wolford noticed this and elbowed him.

"Relax they probably are just going to thank whoever those two are" the wolf said leaning over and whispering to the fox.

As the two stepped up to the podium the audience began to applaud and cheer.

"Thank you thank you, we have much to be thankful about as the hero's of Zootopia." The voice that spoke was highly altered but after so many years he could easily tell it was the voice of his father speaking.

"We have been the local hero's here for just about twenty years and we are extremely grateful for that opportunity. However it is with a heavy heart that we say that this will be our last year as the superhero's of Zootopia" the class let out an audible gasp at what they just heard, for everyone in that classroom those two mammals on the screen had been saving the day since they were just kits and cubs. And to hear that they were retiring was heart breaking, however it also meant that there was now an opening in the very city for new super hero's to step in.

"Yes we know that this may come as a shock to some of you, but working in a high risk job such as ours can become pretty tiring after twenty years, I'm sure chief Bogo can attest to this. And although we have our powers, take these suits off and give us normal clothes and we're just like the rest of you, heck we may even be some of your friends." This time the voice came from his mother.

"But after so many years, and after helping so many of you we are going to pass the torch down to two new hero's who are already leaving their mark on the city as we saw last night. And that is why we want to personally meet with this Phantom Fox and Violet Vigilante personally. We will not leave this city in the hands of just anybody, we want to be sure that what happened last night was no fluke and that these mammals are here to protect." Wilde One said before stepping back from the podium. The audience then began to talk to each other some with confusion and fear on their face, and then the TV was shut off. Nick sat in shock as well as a majority of other mammals in the room, including Mrs. Rollae. He had heard them talk about retirement but he always that they would tell him first, maybe they knew he was going to be watching. Mrs. Rollae got the classes attention by gently clearing her throat,

"Alright class, I think we learned plenty from that. I think we should return to where we left off yesterday" and with that the class moved on.

* * *

Nick wasn't even mad… He was furious, the one mammal who was most important to them and they didn't even tell him they were going to retire. The fox sat, silently fuming, on the bus after the school day had finished. Judy could tell he was upset and knew why, she watched the press conference as well and was excited but also deeply terrified with the prospect of having to protect the entire city of Zootopia. The pair sat silently on the bus while it came into a landing at the empty back lot where it always did, pulling up to the bus stop, like it always did. The foxes anger followed him off the bus as well as Judy as they started walking to the house, what they didn't notice was the police that was following them close behind. They continued to walk until just in front of the house when the sirens on the car went off, Nick reacted by grabbing Judy and swinging her behind him.

"Nick what are you doing?" She asked from behind Nick, it took him a moment to notice what he was doing and how unnecessary it was.

"Sorry" he said letting her go before returning his attention back to the police car which now had its window down revealing the driver to be chief Bogo.

"Get in you two, you have a lot of explaining ahead of you" he called out.

"Oh great here we go" Nick grumbled to himself as he walked over to the car.

* * *

"Tell me everything that happened last night" The Cape buffalo said taking a seat behind his desk, while the two much smaller mammals sat in their seat across from him.

"Well we went to the other side of the wall to collect information, which we got" Nick started, "and then on the way back we heard screaming for help so we went to go check being the good upstanding citizens that we are. We went in took care of business but in the process my hood came off and that vixen must have seen my ears and orange fur because when we went home and watched the news everyone already knew."

Bogo stared at Nick with his death glare while the fox stayed strong staring right back at him. Finally he let out a sigh looking down and rubbing his nose. Nick was not expecting the look of sympathy to then appear on his face when he looked back up,

"And you're okay with this?" The chief asked, his voice coming down from this concrete like hardness to a much softer and more caring tone. Nick was so stunned he could barely respond to his question.

"We… Well no, of course I'm not okay with it. But I also know that I will have to play the cards I've been dealt, right now they are bad but luckily I'm a good bluffer so I think I can still win" Nick said.

"Listen Nick, I don't know what your parents are thinking. I know for sure that they don't know it is you two that they are leaving the city for. They worked this city smoothly, and although I'm supposed to say I hate vigilante justice, which I partially do, I know that what they do is a huge sacrifice and one that they would not just let go of. Although it may seem like we don't get along, the ZPD can't be everywhere or do everything so they helped us and we would help them in turn. And now that job is being passed to you two, so were gonna have to get along whether we like it or not." Bogo said looking between the two mammals seated in front of him.

"And to make matters worse, your species is now out there. Stereotypes are still out there against foxes, I may have had some for awhile myself, and it is going to be hard to avoid them. People are going to put you down even if their lives depend on you. And to add a cherry to this metaphorical Sunday, you two are in a relationship that is frowned upon by many mammals. All this put together, you two are both in for one hell of a time. Do you think you're going to be able to handle it?" He asked genuinely.

The two looked at each other both surprised by Bogo's current behavior. Judy's face then morphed into one of absolute confidence,

"Chief, if there are any two mammals that can handle something like this, it is us" She said. The chief smiled a little at the bunny's confidence, quickly tampering it down as to not seem to soft, but it did not go unnoticed.

"Excellent, I look forward to working with the both of you"

* * *

The chief drove them back to Nicks house, leaving them out front before driving off. Nick was ready to face down his parents, of course he was still upset, they should have told him first. They really must not think he has his powers and are just leaving it in the hands of some random pair instead of their own son. When the two walked into the house the first thing he noticed was his parents sitting at the table as if they were waiting there the whole time. They looked at him and Judy upset like something tragic had happened,

"Nick, we need to talk" his dad said. Nicks anger grew, he couldn't help it,

"Yeah we most certainly do." Was all he said as he dropped his bag sitting across from the two.

"Judy, you can hear this too if you would like" Amelia said. The rabbit nodded taking a seat next to Nick, putting a paw on his leg just out of view from the his parents just as she had done before to remind him that she is here for him.

"So we're guessing you saw the press conference today. And before you let us have it" Edward said just as Nick opened his mouth immediately shutting it. "We were going to tell you about this, but considering this new duo who just popped up last night we made our announcement before we could tell you."

That deflated a lot of Nicks anger, "so what you're just giving up on me and giving the city to these two random mammals?" He asked,

"No Nick we are not giving up on you, its just that we don't know when your powers are going to come in. And we are getting far to old to be doing what we do now, you will get the city when your time comes. We have been waiting for a replacement for several years now so we're going to jump on this opportunity. Do you understand?" Amelia asked.

"No not really, but I'll get over it. Now you said you were going to meet with those two, do you know when?" Nick asked. That question seemed to throw everyone off, Judy gradually understood why he was asking, knowing that they were going to be the ones to meet them. But his parents just thought that he was curious.

"Uhm we don't know yet, they haven't reached out but we're trying to do it sooner rather than later." Amelia said looking over at Edward who nodded in agreement.

'Interesting' Nick thought, 'so they really don't know'.

"Alright well me and Judy have work to do, so we're gonna get to it" Nick said standing up and heading to his room followed by Judy leaving the two parents sitting there with a confused look on their face.

'That was way too easy' they were thinking. Once they were in the privacy of his room Nick grabbed Judy, hugging her close.

"So what are we gonna do?" She asked nuzzling into his neck, the fox breathed her scent in, relishing in the sweet lavender she smelled like.

"I have an idea but keeping our identity a secret to them is going to be very difficult" Nick said.

"I don't think that will be that hard, but whats your plan?" She pulled back and looked into his eyes with a questioning look.

"Do you think that Jack could contact them and pretend to be me or you?" he asked. Nick had become fond of the jack rabbit because of his ingenuity, plus it helped to have a friend who was as talented as him.

"Yeah I'm sure he can do that" she said pulling her phone out and starting to type, but before she could send it a red paw pushed her phone down.

"Listen Judy, I know you're not one for sappy speeches or crazy stuff like that, but I just really want to ask you before things get too crazy… Will you go to the winter dance with me?" He asked, his emerald eyes locking with her violet ones. She looked at him confused, 'oh boy now I've done it' he thought. But what he was not expecting was for her to start laughing,

"Nick here I am thinking you're gonna break up with me or something. I thought we were already going with each other." She said through her laughs. Now it was Nicks turn to be confused,

"Wait so I didn't have to ask you at all, you thought we were just going?" He said perplexed

"Yeah unless you were going to go with someone else and not tell me"

Now it was Nicks turn to laugh, he pulled her close and hugged her tight relishing in the funny coincidence he had landed himself in.

"No I'm going with you whether you like it or not, now text Jack we got a new plan to set up"

* * *

The plan was set and his parents had been contacted, they were set to meet them in the same alley where the first attack happened wearing their temporary disguises. They held all the cards so that if anything went wrong they could easily get out of there. The two had snuck out of the house after they had eaten an awkward dinner, all his parents would talk about was the fact that they were going to meet the two. And now they sat in the alley way alone, waiting for their arrival. Nick had become impatient and started kicking random trash that surrounded the dumpster that Judy had his behind the night before. They had told them to meet in the alley at 9 and it was now 9:15, from what Nick knew they were rarely late for anything. And they couldn't be because lives depended on their punctuality.

There was no one outside either, considering it wasn't that late. There weren't even that many cars driving, which made the alleyway rather quiet which unnerved Nick.

"Sorry we're late" came a voice from behind him. It was so unexpected that Nick unleashed his powers and stepped into a defensive stance, growling to try and intimidate whoever it was. When he saw Wild One coming out of the shadows of the back alley,

'How did he get there?' Nick thought to himself. He then realized that he looked and felt rather threatening, so he reigned in his powers and put on his deep gruff voice.

"Hey where is Scarlet Fang?" Judy asked in her disguised voice,

"Right behind you" came a new voice from behind again. This time Nick noticed the added presence now that his powers were a little more on, almost like he was leaning forward in his chair at school.

'They have us boxed in, very smart' Nick thought.

"Well I must say it is a real honor to meet you two, I've heard so many stories" Nick said reaching out his paw to Wild One. He couldn't help but feel intimidated by the reaction less mask that he wore, but he also knew that it was just his father under there. After a few moments of silence the masked figure reached out and shook his paw.

"So, you're the Phantom Fox that has everyone freaking out" Wild One said,

"And you are the Violet one who can control others, how interesting that a friend of my son has the same powers and the same bright violet eyes" Scarlet Fang said. Nick could tell what they were doing, trying to intimidate them to make them feel like they weren't safe, and it was kind of working.

"Well that is sure one strange coincidence, maybe I should meet them sometime" Judy said not letting Scarlets words get to her.

"How long have you two been in the city?" Wild One asked again. Now it was Nicks time to let his hustling skills take over, to create a story where one didn't exist.

"Well I have been here for five years while I met her just two years ago" he said convincingly.

"Hmm and yet we had no idea, how interesting. We've been working this city for quite some time and it is now that we discover another fox with powers"

Nick gave a fake reaction of shock at the news that they were fox's too, "Wait you two are foxes as well?"

"Yes we are, and also happily married for more than twenty years, are you two in a relationship? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to" Scarlet now asked,

"No its okay, and we are in a relationship, definitely not as long as you two though." Judy said now. The air surrounding the four was so tense you could cut it with a knife.

"Aww how cute. Now can you take those hoods and masks off so we can see your faces Nick and Judy" Wild One spoke.

Silence, all that followed was complete silence. Both of the two younger mammals stood with their mouths agape.

"Who?" Judy spoke up hoping they were just bluffing,

"Oh our son and his girlfriend. Now cut it out you two the jig is up" Scarlet said coming around to stand next to Wild One. The two silently and shamefully took off their masks and hoods while the two adults did the same. Soon they were all out looking eye to eye just like they had done a few minutes ago.

"How long have you known?" Nick finally said his voice cracking from the nerves he had.

"Not long actually, we had our suspicions when you got put as hero in school, but when we had heard of a young duo that was comprised of a fox and a mammal with purple eyes… well it doesn't take a genius to figure that much out. But the better question is when were you planning on telling us?" Amelia said.

"I really was going to tell you soon, but I just didn't know how to explain it. Honestly I don't even know what powers I have" Nick said honestly,

"When did you get them?" Edward now asked,

"That night we were attacked in our house",

"WHAT!" They screamed in unison,

"Nick that happened months ago and you didn't tell us?" Edward screamed. Their screaming must have been pretty loud because all of a sudden red and blue lights went off as well as a siren. The group reacted fast as Edward leapt up the side of the building, meanwhile Amelia grabbed the two teens and flew them to the roof. To the police officer down below it seemed like just an empty alley way, but if he looked up he could see the eyes of four mammals watching them.

Edward stepped away from the edge rubbing his face with his paws and letting out a sigh of frustration.

"We are going home and you are going to explain everything" he said turning away and leaping off towards home. Amelia looked at the two who looked back expecting for her to carry them again.

"Have fun walking home" she said taking off after Edward.

* * *

After 30 minutes, 10 of which they had to use to figure out how to get down from the building, they were finally home. Both Edward and Amelia were there, out of their suits and sitting at the table just like they were earlier except now they were the angry ones. Edward looked at Judy first,

"Judy we would like to talk to our son alone this time" he said. Judy nodded and walked over to her room closing the door behind her. Edward then looked over at Nick,

"Sit"

Nick did as he was told and sat in the seat across from them trying hard not to make eye contact. An awkward silence hung in the air, he could feel their eyes burning into him, meanwhile he was focused on keeping a straight face and not show how guilty he felt.

"Do you understand why we're mad?" Amelia asked,

"Because I didn't tell you I got my powers" he said, for some reason he found the table much more interesting than their faces.

"And for how long have you had your powers now?" Edward now asked,

"Um maybe four months now"

"Right, so here are your parents. The ones who birthed you, the ones who are rooting for you more than anyone else, thinking you don't have any powers for all this time. We were worrying if you would ever get them honestly, its not a guarantee for you to get them. But then we find out that you have had them for four months and have yet you refused to TELL US!" Edward started calm but started screaming towards the end causing Nick to flinch.

"I really was going to tell you, but there is just so much going on that I just couldn't find a good opportunity to do it" Nick said, he felt like he was a child again getting scolded for hustling or pickpocketing.

"So how are we supposed to trust you to take care of the city? What if we were to die going out and all of a sudden you're just left here by yourself and you never get the chance to tell us?" Edward stood up and now was standing closer to Nick. The thought of his parents dying made him flinch again, he lived with the thought of it, but didn't think of them never finding out. This time Amelia noticed Nicks reaction and felt a small bit of sympathy well up in her. He needed to be scolded but it was starting to go to far.

"When we went out on Sunday we were taking down enemies that are worse than the little things that your textbooks tell you, they don't teach what its actually like in that school. They safe guard you from the actual horrors that super hero's see, or the decisions we have to make. We've been pretty darn lucky but what if the luck slipped up on Sunday and me or your mother took a bullet somewhere that could have killed us? What would you do then?" His rage continued to grow as he screamed down on Nick.

"Edward" Amelias voice cut in, causing Edward to look up at her. 'Calm down' she mouthed pointing at Nick who had his eyes closed and tears starting to fall from his eyes. Edward breathed, he hated to make him cry but he was still mad.

"Listen, Nick" his voice was much calmer now, "Look at me". Nick opened his eyes, wiping them quickly before looking up at his dad.

"Were just mad that you would lie to us when you are supposed to be showing us why you are going to eventually save this city someday. Do you understand?"

Nick nodded in response but not saying anything.

"Now do you have anything else to tell us?" Edward asking, sitting back down across the table, "perhaps a certain mammal that blew up our house?"

Nick was once again surprised, "You know about Magnus?" He asked his voice shaky from his emotions.

"Yes, we have been tracking them since they destroyed the house, we know about their compound but have yet to go in. We saw you outside the city last night with that jack rabbit and Judy. Can you tell us what you know?" Amelia once again spoke up,

"I don't know much, they have a compound outside the city, they have lots of guards and mammals and scientists…" He debated telling them about the gas or the ray or the fact that he was captured choosing it wouldn't hurt to tell them, "And th-" he was cut off by the sirens and lights starting to flash.

"Ugh, we're not done here. You'll tell us the rest when you get back, got it?" Edward said heading towards the moving wall.

"Yeah I promise I'll tell you everything" he said watching his parents standing next to the pole's,

"Good now stay safe" Amelia said. And with that they were gone. Nick sat there in silence thinking about all that had just transpired when something flickering outside the window caught his eye. He looked out and saw something on fire,

"Oh gosh, JUDY!" He screamed, he went to the cabinets and grabbed a pot filling it quickly with water hoping it would be enough to put the fire out. Judy walked out of the room and noticed his panicked look,

"What's going on?" She asked,

"There's something on fire outside come on" once the pot was full he ran out the front door. But the time he was out the fire had mostly died down leaving scorch marks on the road. But the marks left an undeniable symbol… two M's. Nicks mind then flashed to his parents who were off to somewhere to save someone. Or was it a trap.

"Oh no…"

 **Cliff hanger oooh, lets see how this one plays out. Sorry this chapter was rather lack luster compared to recent ones but clearly we're about to kick it up as we creep towards the dance. Also sorry about the fact that this chapter took a little longer to come out, I just got really busy with school work and felt a lack of ideas for a moment but I'm good now. So how have you all been? I'm doing good hunkering down and doing all online school work, washing my hands and not seeing the light of day. I hope you are all doing the same, we've just passed the peak supposedly and things should slowly start to calm down. I really just want to see all my friends again but I understand that our nation is going through some tough times. Anyways stay safe out there, wash your hands, and protect everyone!**


	22. Chapter 21: Rise of The Phantom Fox

The snow was falling heavy, and with the orange streetlights it gave everything am ominous glow. This wasn't anything new for the two mammals flying though the air, in fact it was just another day in the office. The cold was nothing to them as they were covered from head to toe with cloth. Scarlet Fang and Wild One had been in this part of Tundra Town before as well so nothing seemed out of the ordinary when the call came in.

"How far?" Came the call Scarlet who was holding Wild One so that they could move quicker to where they had to go. Meanwhile Wild One held up his wrist to check the display that was inlaid into his suit, the display showed the location they had to go as well as which direction to go in order to get there. Currently it showed that they were nearly on top of the marker,

"Go ahead and start heading down we're nearly there" he said, Scarlet nodding in response flying towards the ground.

"We have a supposed assault in this dark alleyway, several mammals attacking and only one mammal getting attacked. Should be nice and easy" Wild One said,

"You always say that" Scarlet said rolling her eyes in her mask.

"Because it always is"

The landing was smooth, Scarlet dropped Wild onto the roof before landing on it gently. The moon illuminated the sky, but even without it Wild One would have been able to see down in the alley way because of his night vision. It took only a peek to count the mammals and see the position they were all in.

"Alright, we got three verse one. It seems like none of them are armed so it should be easy, the one being attacked is against the wall so everyone else is a target. Ready?"

"Yup"

And with that they jumped down into the alley. It all happened quickly, they dropped down right on top of the outside two leaving the one in the middle in shock as he watched his two buddies get taken out. He didn't have much time to react either as the super strong fist of Wild One connected straight on with his face knocking him out instantly.

Once they were certain the threat was clear the duo went to the small mammal, who turned out to be a small squirrel.

"You alright there champ?" Wild One asked walking up and kneeling down in front of him.

"Ha… ha ha ha… HA HA HA!" The small mammals laughs were small at first but soon grew to a maniacal cackle. A pain then sparked in both of their necks, Wild One quickly reached up and pulled out whatever had stabbed him in the neck. He looked at it confused but his blood ran cold when he saw the tranquilizer dart, and he could feel the effects of it instantly as his legs began to give out. He looked over at Scarlet to see she had already fallen to her knee's.

'No' he thought to himself. Luckily he had trained his brain so much that his hand moved automatically to a button on his wrist next to the display which served as an emergency signal to the house, hoping Nick would see and get someone to help. His eyes shut and he was out…

* * *

"FUCK!" Nick screamed, he had already gone through every other profanity he could think of as he paced through the living room. Judy sat on the couch thinking of what they could do to save them.

"We need the suits. There's gonna be a lot of mammals with guns and those suits can protect us from getting destroyed by bullets." Nick had a glint of insanity in his eyes, something about him was off as if he was willing to do whatever he had to do. Even if he had to kill someone…

"Nick you need to calm down, we need an actual plan before we just go in there and get killed" Judy said hoping to calm him down. When he heard her desperate plea he looked over at her and saw her looking at him with a worried look, he also noticed his powers being really strong and that could be making her uneasy. 'I really need to learn control' he thought to himself. The last thing he would want as a hero is to have the public fear him.

"I'm sorry" he said breathing and reigning in on his energy, "this is something I've never really planned for, my parents are the best, I didn't think anything like this would ever happen" and it was true because after all twenty years of them working they had never been captured.

"It's okay, I already have Jack on the way here, but we need to move quickly, we don't know what they are going to do" she said. The fox let out a breath of relief, she was the best, while he was freaking out she was already figuring out what to do. He walked over to her and picked her up, pulling her into a hug and rubbing her ears taking a deep breath of her scent.

"Thank you" Meanwhile Judy was relishing in the affection he was showing her.

"We need to get going Nick, how are we going to get there?" She asked, none of them could drive after all. Nick smirked, he had a plan and Judy knew that she wasn't going to like it.

"I know someone who might be able to help us at this hour, I just have two phone calls to make"

* * *

The street lanterns flew by as the police cruiser went down the road. Red and blue lights bounced off everything it hit, windows, other cars, even the walls all cascaded in the two colors. There were four mammals in the car each one of them acting differently and each one doing different tasks. Jack sat in the back on a laptop, typing away, looking for something. His large ears were standing straight up allowing the mammals in the car to see the dark stripes that were running horizontally. What he was searching for was the schematics to the building they were headed to.

The mammal sitting next to him was Judy in a brand new suit that came off the table a few minutes ago. It was a skin tight one piece suit that was black with long streaks of purple running down her sides, her paws were once again in her foot wraps to protect her sensitive yer powerful feet. Her ears were once again tied up and behind her head and she had a hood up over her head. She also had a mask on that covered the area around her eyes so her entire face was open but her identity and species were hidden. She simply sat in her seat going over the plan they had come up with in her head. She also continuously pulled at the suit think it was a little tight for her, but extremely comfortable. And the best part is that it was designed for her hands to remain open but also protected allowing her to use her powers.

The third mammal in the car was chief Bogo, he was of course driving. The chief was just about to clock out when he got a call from emergency hotline he had set up with Wild One and Scarlet Fang, but was surprised when he heard Nicks voice instead of his parents. While he was frustrated to be driving out at night when he could be with his own family when he had listened to the fox's story he knew he had to help. He was shocked at what he saw when he arrived at Nicks house, the two M's burned into the ground, the suspicious jack rabbit, and of course the suits that both Nick and Judy were wearing. It was not what he was expecting, but then again he didn't have powers so he didn't know the benefits of wearing certain clothes. Especially the fox sitting next to him, who looked completely different (he didn't even recognize him when he first arrived), but it suited him.

Said fox was of course Nick, but if you looked quickly you wouldn't be able to tell. His suit was just how he had tried it on, except you know it actually fit. It was snug and made moving quickly very easy for him, the shoes and hood had been taken off, per Nicks request. It was made out of the material Edna had showed him, with its hex pattern covering the majority of it in a dark black but with grey stripes where a belt would be as well as around his wrists and neck. The suit itself made him feel something, he couldn't describe it, but it felt like it was giving him power and energy. It felt good, like he was born to wear it. And now that his species was out he didn't bother with a mask or foot coverings, of course he still wanted to protect his true identity so instead of donning a hood or mask he simply grabbed some silver fur dye from the closest convenient store. It was strange looking at himself in the mirror and seeing a silver fox, but considering Bogo didn't recognize him he knew he would be okay. Nick was simply buzzing, the plan they had was good, REALLY good. And he knew that by the end of the night he would have his parents out.

"Can someone please tell me the plan again?" Bogo asked, he knew what was going on but it sounded so crazy that he wanted to be sure he heard it right. Everyone groaned in response making the Cape buffalo angry, "I know the plan I just think its so darn crazy that it won't work and also want to be sure I don't mess up!"

"It's alright," he said in a rough voice that wasn't his own, one of the benefits of Edna's suits was the built in voice changer that could easily mask whoever's voice it was to protect their identity, "we're currently headed to the compound where we will stop just before we get too close where your gonna let me and Carrots out. You two will stay here and act as back up in case shit hits the fan, which it might. We are going to go in and sneak through the vents to where they are most likely holding my parents where we will sneak in bust them out and then get the hell out of there." Nick said to Bogo, knowing that it wasn't exactly his prime time for working. The plan was simple in concept but with their knowledge of the vent systems and Jacks ability to to watch their back on surveillance they were gonna be in and out before anyone ever noticed.

"Got it, and where is this place again?" Bogo asked, he was simply driving towards Tundra Town as that where was there the beacon had gone off. Nick didn't actually know how to get to the compound by car either, sure he could probably walk through the woods but there wasn't enough time for that.

"The place used to be a hospital, it was built on the side of a waterfall but closed down back in the nineties for unknown reasons." Jack said scrolling through his laptop. Bogo's eyes perked up at the mention of a hospital on a waterfall as memories flashed through his eyes.

"I know where we're going" the way he said that caught the attention of the silver fox next to him,

"Bogo did something happen at this compound?" Nick asked,

"Yeah, I had my first big bust at that hospital. Back then it was just called Cliffside. It happened about twenty years ago and was also probably the first time your parents stepped into the spotlight as hero's for the city." Bogo said focusing on the road, but Nick could tell that his mind was giving him flashbacks to whatever happened. Nick had heard about what happened but never knew the real location of where it all happened.

"Well what happened?" Judy asked from the back, her voice also masked but in a deeper richer way like she was a much larger mammal compared to Nicks change which was his voice if he was much older and larger.

"Well we went in after getting calls about mammals going missing, I tracked a truck carrying a kidnapped bison all the way to the edge of the city and found that they had wound up at the hospital. But the thing was it wasn't really a hospital, it was more of an experimental prison where they tested mammals with chemicals to see if they could create a mammal that was stronger than any hero imaginable. They were hoping to sell it to the government to create some sort of super soldier, but we came in just in time to shut it down. The two in charge were to ewe's who were sentenced to life in prison but were killed before they could even get into the holding cell, no one knows who killed them to this day though…" there was something about the story that felt familiar to Nick, he couldn't tell for sure but there was a connection.

"So what happened to the hospital after that?" Nick asked wondering how it could still be held up considering it was on the side of a waterfall.

"It was shut down but the building was left there. It was too risky with the waterfall there to demolish it."

The car continued on, heading into the wall that lead into Tundra Town. But instead of continuing into the frigid tundra Bogo turned right into a maintenance tunnel. The small tunnel was only large enough for one car to fit through making Bogo's maneuvers much more difficult, but he pulled them off flawlessly as if he had done it before and soon enough they popped out into the open again. Judy began to recognize the landscape surrounding them as the mountain on the left sloped off to the cliff on the right. It was very different actually seeing the landscape from the inside of a car rather than beneath one, the fog rolling over the sides of the mountain made everything feel much more claustrophobic than it really was. The fog soon cleared out revealing the waterfall and the building that sat perched at the edge.

"Stop here" Nick said. They were just far enough to where they wouldn't be seen easily but could move in stealthily. Nick unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out of the car, poking his head back in one last time and looking at Bogo, "they aren't gonna know you're hear so stay hidden unless we call you. Jack do you have the radios?"

The white rabbit nodded in response handing them two small ear pieces, "these will allow us to communicate, I'm already into the buildings main frame and from here it seems that there are four mammals on the bridge, fairly large." The pair nodded being sure to create a link between themselves in order to communicate with each other silently. They were about to head off when a voice stopped them, and looking back they saw Bogo had opened one of the windows.

"Stay safe, and bring those two home" he closed the window and gave them a thumbs up. They both gave a salute in response before turning and heading towards the towering building.

Bogo watched the two go, sighing and rubbing his face. He was tired, and because of that he thought about the ways that this plan could go wrong some of them being worse than others.

"This is going to be interesting" he whispered to himself.

"Yeah, your telling me" The voice behind him startled Bogo, he had completely forgotten about the jack rabbit sitting in the back.

"Who are you again?" The buffalo asked oblivious to why the rabbit was even there. Jack simply sighed, slapping a paw on his face.

'Yeah this is going to be interesting'

* * *

Cliffside looked like something out of a horror movie from their perspective. The water fall creating a mist that covered the surrounding land, the water that fell down into the gorge below creating an even thicker mist that toward up towards the heavens. It looked like the hospital was being sandwiched by to clouds, the only way to get up to it was the narrow bridge from the mainland to the building. Two sets of eyes scoped out the land and bridge being sure to locate any mammal they saw. This was going to be all Nick because he didn't want Judy to link with anyone and leave her real body in the open. It was going to be a challenge for the fox as most of the mammals were taller than him, but with his strength and speed he thought he could slip through with ease.

'I'll watch you from up here if you need any back up, now go get 'em' He heard Judy's voice in his head. He looked over at his rabbit and gave her a nod and a smile of appreciation.

The amount of fog as well as how the sheer darkness that shrouded all the land around the bridge helped Nick to sneak up to the small building right next to the bridge. The building seemed to function as a security checkpoint as there was a moveable barrier just next to it blocking any cars from going across unless they really felt like driving through it. There was a single streetlight on this side that illuminated the area, as well as the light coming from the building itself. The four mammals around the area were well spaced out (to Nicks luck) one of them being directly on the other side of the building. An idea popped into Nicks head as he looked at the height of the building, he could easily jump on top of it with his strength, now to just get the mammals attention. He peaked around the corner to see just how big this mammal was. It was a elephant, at least three times taller then he was, but with enough momentum he could be cracked easily. Nick slid back into cover looking for something to draw the elephants attention, there was nothing on the ground except dirt and some stones. 'Perfect' he grabbed one of the stones and leaned back around the corner, the toss was light but well aimed as the small stone hit him right in the back of the head instantly grabbing his attention.

The elephant could see a shadow moving behind the building, and knowing who they had captured he figured he knew who it was lurking in the darkness. He raised his gun, which looked more like a toy than an actual weapon, as he walked towards the side.

"Here foxy foxy, I wont hurt you if you just come out and give yourself up." No response came as the large mammal crept towards the corner, he stopped at the edge giving him one last chance to surrender. When once again no response came he prepared himself to attack, "alright suit yourself", and with that he jumped the corner only to be met by absolutely nothing. The elephant searched around confused before hearing a whisper.

"Hey you're looking too low" the voice was deep, definitely not the voice of some teen. He then felt a wave of fear wash over him as if he was in the presence of something deadly. Looking up he saw the silhouette of a fox, that was the last thing he saw as he a knee flying towards his face before everything went black.

The sound of the elephant hitting the ground attracted the attention of two of the three mammals left.

"Trunkaby, do you copy?" Came the call through the elephants radio, Nick watched the radio waiting for a response.

"Purrson, Todd go check and see if he is okay" a voice called out on the radio.

'Great now I gotta deal with two of them' he looked around looking for a different tactic. There were bushes along the back of the building with forest continuing off into the distance. The bushes would work perfectly to allow Nick to hide and get up close with them.

The two mammals rounded the corner seeing their coworker knocked out on the ground, the feeling of power covered the area like dew of a cold morning. They looked closer at Trunkaby to see what happened to him, blood was dripping from his trunk as it was bent at a very awkward angle.

"How could a small fox or a tiny rabbit do something like that?" One of the mammals was a white tiger in a long dark trench coat while the other was a snow fox in similar dark clothing. They were both holding guns up, scanning the area for any sign of the attacker. The guns were strapped around their bodies so that they could easily put them to their side and use their hands if needed.

Rustling of bushes caught their attention snapping their heads and guns towards the sound. A small gust of wind blew by causing every other tree and bush to rustle as well, but one was moving differently then the others. The tiger tapped the fox on the shoulder signaling to him the bush, the fox looked realizing quickly why it was different nodding to the tiger and raising his gun. The two crept forward until they were right on top of the bush, it seemed normal, that is until two paws shot out of the grabbing the guns that were strapped to their bodies causing the two to lean down significantly. Nick quickly let go of the guns reaching up to their heads and smacking them together with all his might knocking them out cold.

Once he was sure they were out Nick stepped out of the bush listening for the sound of any other mammals nearby, "Jack where is that last mammal?" He asked over the radio, there was a moment of silence while Jack searched the cameras for where the last one was.

"He's on the far side of the bridge, I can kill the lights on the bridge for you to sneak across if you want?" Jack asked,

"Do it" the moment he said that the lights went off.

"Todd, Purrson did I you find anything?" A rhino called on his radio.

Silence

"Does anyone copy?"

Darkness, the lights around him shut off leaving the rhino in darkness, the only source of light he had was the dull light from the moon somehow making its way through the mist. But considering he didn't have night vision he was practically blind. He quickly picked up his gun and flicked on the flashlight, shining it down the bridge to see if he could see anyone coming. The sound of shuffling caught his attention as he flicked over to his right seeing the end of a black tail disappear behind a box. More shuffling behind him dragged his attention to the other side just in time to see a shorter white tail disappear around the corner of a car. He knew they were now behind him, but what he wasn't expecting was to hear a grunt and the sound of something flying through the air. He turned towards it to see a foot flying towards his face before it contacted him right in the jaw, easily knocking two teeth out, as he slammed into the ground.

"Hm that's a pretty good strategy" Judy said as she stood up from her kneeling position.

"I guess we're gonna have to remember that one for later" Nick said, "alright Jack we're clear out here"

"Yep you're clear, the entrance at the side should be open and clear" he said through the radio.

"Roger that" Nick said. He then looked over at Judy, nodding towards their entrance, "show time".

Getting in was simple considering Judy knew how to get in through the drain pipe, and when they got to the room full of old beds all of the boxes stood tall just like they had when they originally escaped, and with a quick boost they were up into the vents. They sat for a moment at the entrance asking Jack to find the holding room where his parents were most likely being held, once he found it the jack rabbit gave them directions for how to get there through the vents. They eventually got to a hatch that was still in place but had slits that allowed them to peek through, and sure enough they were on top of the holding cells.

'We need to find someone for you to link with' Nick thought to Judy. There were five mammals in the room including one directly beneath them which was a lion, 'you remember the alleyway?' He asked.

'Yeah, but what…' she stopped mid sentence as the events in the alley played out in her head. There were five mammals then and there are five of them now, 'I see what you're thinking, we just have to get this open and then I can create a link with that lion'

Nick slid up to the grate and felt around it for a moment testing to see how quickly and quietly it would come out, it was loose and seemed like it would come out quietly, 'I got this'. Judy stepped back in the vent and watched as Nick grabbed the cover, pushing it out of the socket before tilting it, bringing it in, and then laying it at his side all without making a sound.

'Nice, now hold onto me so I don't fall down' she thought to him. Nick took her paw and lowered her down smoothly towards the lion, once her paw was just in reach she tapped the tigers head and was hoisted up back into the vent before they even noticed.

'Alright I got it, as soon as you take out the last mammal I will break the link and then you take the lion out got it?' She thought while lying down in the vent.

'Got it, once you make your move I'm coming in' Nick thought preparing himself to jump down. Judy nodded before closing her eyes and taking over the lion.

It was a girl lion, to Judy's relief, the amount of times she took out a male made her uncomfortable to think about. She looked around taking in the mammals in the room, two rams, a lynx, and a black bear. Should be pretty easy to do this considering she was now the largest mammal in the room. It happened quickly, she lunged at the ram who was directly to her left quickly throwing her elbow into their head, sending him back into the glass wall behind him knocking him out. She then dove for the next ram who was to un surprise to move, at this point Nick had jumped down and went after the lynx who was running towards the lion not even noticing the fox's presence.

Nick made quick work tripping the lynx as he was running, causing him to fall face first into the ground, the dox quickly got on top of the lynx grabbing their head before shoving it back into the floor knocking them unconscious while also breaking their nose in the process. The last mammal was the black bear who was now approaching Nick with deadly intent, she could feel the aura coming off the fox but was more focused on trying to take down the threat then notice any weird feeling. The bear reached into her pocket pulling out a taser rod, just like the one that the rhino had last time he was here, she jabbed it at the fox who easily dodged the bears weak attacks. When the bear reached back to make another jab Nick spun and brought a kick up to her head, hitting her directly in the side of the head sending the bear into the wall.

That was both of his mammals taken now out, they had gained the attention of everyone in the cells, some cheering the two on as they took out their captors.

Nick looked over at Judy to see that she had taken out both of the rams, she looked at him and nodded. The lion was then put back and shook their head, the signal that Judy had broken the link. Nick charged at the lion with as much power as he could muster, jumping up and swinging his legs up to drop kick the lion. He made contact right in the lions center feeling bones crack beneath his feet, the large mammal flew back hitting the glass of a cell behind her causing it to crack in the process, she then slid her back down the wall and collapsed on the ground.

A cheer of applause erupted from the mammals in the cells, Nick held his fingers to his face to silence them, he definitely didn't want to get caught now. Meanwhile Judy dropped down from the vent joining Nick, they searched each cell until they found the one they were looking for. Both of his parents were in the same cell, still suited up just without their masks, and hadn't noticed all the commotion yet, when Nick tapped his clawed finger to the glass his dad looked up from the ground where he was sitting locking eyes with him. Confusion crossed his face as he didn't recognize the silver fox in the super suit standing in front of him, that is until he locked eyes and he could never forget the emerald eyes of his son or the violet eyes of Judy. Edward tapped his wife on the shoulder who looked at him and then at the glass, the same emotions crossed over her face as she realized who was there.

"We're going to get you guys out of here" Nick said.

"Alright well work quick they said they were coming back soon" Amelia said standing up and approaching the glass. Her heart swelled with pride as she watched Nick and Judy work just like Edward and her had when they first started.

"BREEEEER BREEEER!" The alarm sounded and red lights flashed,

"Shit, Savage, what's going on?" Nick asked through his ear piece,

"I don't know the alarm was sounded by someone just outside the room I'm trying to see who" Jack said through the other end, tapping away at the laptop and switching cameras to the outside hall. "Oh no…"

"What is it Savage?" Right when Nick asked the door opened and in rushed more guards.

They quickly surrounded and raised their guns at the two who were now in the center of the room an, Nick quickly reached up to his ear one last time, "Back up! We need back up!", just as the flow of guards stopped in came the masked mammal themself holding a remote.

"Well, well look who we have here. It seems our prey has fallen right into our trap, although I must say I like your new little costumes. I barely recognized you two, especially you Nick changing your fur color was a smart decision" She said walking up to them, Nick merely growled in response. Two large mammals stepped up behind them and grabbed them, Nick tried to break free and was close to getting out when Magnus spoke up again, "ah ah ah, I would stop that if I were you fox" they said waving the remote they were holding in their hands. Nick stopped as he watched the remote swing back and forth,

"What's that?" He asked confused as to the relevance a remote could have to the situation. Their face was hidden but he could feel the crazy grin coming off the mammal,

"The main event" the two restricted mammals were then led closer to Edward and Amelias cell, the guards cleared the way allowing a clear view of the whole cell, "you remember the experiments I showed you Nick? And I suppose you saw too Judy just through different eyes". How could they forget, no one had ever taken a mammals powers away before so of course it was engraved into their memory. Nick was confused until he realized just where his parents were, then fear filled his face.

"No, no no no no no. You wouldn't, if you do it I will break free of this goon here and strangle you." Nick said as he realized just what they were implying.

"Hmm how brave, taking your own life to save their powers, I never would have expected something like that from a fox." Their voice was growing more frustrated as time past, as if the anger was building up and was about to boil over.

"Why? You would you do something like this?" Judy screamed out, the mammal holding her had a tightly and painfully, she dared not create a link because she knew she would just be shot she did.

"I'm doing this because of what they did to me!" Magnus screamed pointing at the two adults in the glass cell, "they took everything away from me and yet had no consequences because of it"

"What are you talking about?" Edward screamed, his voice barely making it through the glass.

"My parents were just trying to work peacefully and make mammals like you not so special. Why should only a select few get powers that seemed unfair to them, so what did they do? They tried to change the world and make everyone have powers, but no the two hero's of Zootopia wouldn't have it and arrested them, and then they were killed because of it!" Magnus was screaming at the top of their lungs but quieted down once they finished, going instead to a whisper, "so what was I going to do? Well I decided to do the opposite of their plan and came up with my own, take powers away from hero's. And who better to start with then the ones who started it all themselves, Wild ONE AND SCARLET FANG!" The scream was out and Magnus pushed the button.

"NOOOOOOO!" Nick screamed as he watched the purple glass flow into the room, his power surged as the emotions grew in him. He had felt a peak when Koslov had attacked Judy, but this was something entirely different. Everyone around him could feel it too as the intensity in the room grew, as if a bomb was about to go off. Soon the power became too much for Nick and he released out of him, as green ring of power shot out of him. The guards who had created a ring were all launched back and into the wall as if by some pressure wave, they were sent with so much power that many of them didn't get back up. Even Magnus was sent flying back, although they quickly recovered, running out the door calling for mammals to move cargo and get ready for departure. The mammal holding Nick was fried to a crisp and released him before collapsing to the ground. For Judy it just felt like a wave of warmth as the ring passed her but the power hit the mammal holding her and she went down with them. Nick stood there snarling, his emerald eyes glowing as if they were headlights to a car and the energy coming off of him was enough to make a grown mammal pee their pants.

Nick grabbed one of the guns from the down mammals and slammed it into the glass causing it to crack, the gas inside leaking out and dissipating into the ground, but by now there wasn't much gas left as Nick continued to slam the glass with as much strength as he could muster, tears rolling down his face, until finally it shattered. Judy was up as well as the mammal holding her was knocked out cold from the blast. The two rushed in as the rest of the gas was at their feet, the two foxes inside were still coughing as the gas took its affect on them. Nick sobbed as he watched his parents, his idols, his hero's… be stripped of their powers. Judy clutched onto him as she was crying to, neither realized the guards slowly standing up.

The coughing subsided and the two foxes were left just lying there dazed as to what just happened, they felt empty like their soul had just been ripped from their bodies, but the sight of the guard sneaking up behind Nick and Judy snapped them out of it, "Look out!" They yelled in sync, but it was too late as the guard aimed his gun. But before he could shoot a fist stretched out from no where, sending the guard to the ground. The four turned to see the tiger from one of the holding cells walking towards them,

"Come on, this is no place to die" the tiger said in a Latin accent. The four looked around the room as they watched the glass doors opening and the mammals inside being let, some for the first time in months. Those that still had their powers, and even those who didn't, started to attack the guards who were left standing.

"Your energy blast must have been enough to fry the locking system" the tiger said pulling both Edward and Amelia to their feet gently, "can you two still fight?"

"Yeah we can fight. You two," Edward said pointing at the two youngest mammals and staring intensely, "go get Magnus, don't let her leave the facility!" He screamed at them before swinging his fist at an approaching wold hitting him in the jaw and forcing him to the ground, Edward shook his paw in pain (which was new to him). He looked up to see them standing there mouth agape, "GO!" He screamed.

Nick wiped the tears off his face, as did Judy, and the pair took off running in the direction that Magnus went. The hallways were sparsely lit and few mammals were there making their run clear, of course there were still guards every once in awhile but both of them quickly disposed of them. The only mammal in their sights was Magnus as they raced through the compound, turning every corner sharply in order to try and gain any distance. Magnus was about ten feet in front when they burst through a door and turned out of sight, Nick and Judy followed in after them only realizing where they were walking into. Stairs towered above them, they only stopped for a moment as they took it in just how high the stair went up before taking off.

It was a difficult climb for everyone involved, even Magnus, but the adrenaline pumping through them certainly helped. Eventually another door burst open opening up to the outside where rain was beginning to pour. A helicopter was spinning up send the water droplets everywhere, adding to the mist in the air. The noise coming from the helicopter was too loud for Magnus to hear the threat coming from behind them. Nick dove for them bringing himself and Magnus to the ground in the process, the two struggled for control for a minute, while Judy went after the helicopter. For Nick it was a losing battle, he was tired because he had been up for just under twenty four hours, the adrenaline in his body was wearing off, and he was just a teen not a fully trained super hero and because of all this Magnus got on top of him. As soon as they were there they started to pound on him with their fists, Nick held up his arms to protect himself as the strikes came hitting anywhere they could but Magnus had other plans as they did something causing Nicks arms to be pinned to the ground giving them direct access to his face, and they did not show mercy. After the first two he couldn't feel anything as his head was rocked back and forth from their fists, but then nothing. He opened his eyes to see that Magnus was no longer on top of him, sitting up he saw Magnus struggling on the ground with a bundle of grey, black, and violet.

The fox quickly stood up, ignoring the pain, and rushed over towards the two, just as he got there Judy was sent flying off of Magnus and towards the edge of the building. He watched as she slid towards the end of the roof realizing that because of the rain the whole roof was slippery. Forgetting about Magnus he dove after his rabbit before she could fall.

To Judy, she thought that this was it as she tried to stop herself from going over, the slick roof giving her no purchase, and soon she was over the edge. But for some reason when she went over the edge she didn't fall, something had grabbed her arm. She looked up to see Nick holding her arm, the two let out a sigh of relief as he pulled her up and back onto the roof. Behind them the sound of the helicopter grew louder as it took off, it was too late. The two watched as Magnus got away as well as whatever cargo they were carrying, they had gotten away once again, but this time Nick swore that he would take them down if it was the last thing he did. Nick stared off at the slowly disappearing shape of the helicopter not noticing Judy step up until she took his paw. The two locked eyes for a moment before Nick collapsed to his knees and took her into a hug. The rain continued to poor around them as the darkness began to fade to the morning sun.

Judy was the first to pull away when she heard sirens coming from down below, Nick heard it too and looked towards the ground of the building. There was at least fifteen cop cars pulling onto the bridge all blasting their sirens and flashing their lights. The rabbit turned back to him, squeezing his paw to get his attention.

"We should go down and help the others" she said softly. Nick looked back once more at the direction that the helicopter went, although now it was long gone. He turned to Judy and nodded as he stood up, they had to be sure that everyone made it out alive down there.

The situation downstairs was a lot better than the two were expecting. The police were bringing out guards in cuffs by the dozen, all the escaped mammals were grouped up near an ambulance with blankets and cups as they breathed in the fresh air for the first time in months, and the news media was already being blocked off on the other side of the bridge. All was as it should be.

When mammals noticed Nick and Judy out an applause started from the mammals around them, the fox wasn't paying attention as he was looking for two foxes in particular. They just so happened to see them first as they rushed up to the two, Edward hugged tightly onto Nick while Amelia scooped up Judy pulling her into a hug.

"We're so proud of you two, you looked like real hero's in there!" Edward yelled with joy, but when he got silence in response he pulled back to see tears running down Nicks face, "what's wrong?"

"They got away… I'm sorry" Nick whispered out, Edward looked at his son taking in everything about him, the silver fur dye was beginning to wear off from the rain and his suit, although it was mostly water proof, was beginning to get water logged. Instead of saying anything Edward pulled Nick back into a hug,

"You've done nothing wrong and there is nothing to be sorry about" Edward said calmly into Nicks ear. It was strange, normally Nick would shrink into himself but right now he felt like he was a kit again being hugged by his dad after he had a long day of work.

"But-"

"No buts, we have much to talk about when we get back to the house, me and your mother will be fine. We knew a day like this could come and we're glad that it happened when you got your powers. But right now we need to get home, any ideas Phantom Fox" Edward asked pulling back again to smile at his son.

Nick smiled back, letting out a small chuckle at his fathers use of his hero name as he wiped away the tears on his face.

"Yeah I can get us a ride"

* * *

 **Ooh wee! Extra long chapter tonight, we are coming up to the end of part one of the story, again I have the majority of the story all planned out and at this rate it might be 30-40 chapters. Now you may be wondering, how could it get any worse from here? Well I won't tell you but you will have to trust me when I tell you it will. Now moving on to more pressing matters, I understand that this is a more Nick oriented story and that Judy seems to be more of a side character rather then a main character, the story is named The Amazing Nick Wilde but I will be increasing Judy's importance as we continue on through the story. Next part, if you can guess what tv show character I based Nicks super hero appearance as well as his name, I will give you a virtual cookie, a pat on the back, and hey I'll tell the world that you're smarter than anyone else in the next chapter. Stay safe out there, stay inside, and go wash your hands! Thanks for reading!**


	23. Chapter 22: The Calm Before The Storm

Francine considered herself lucky, her job was to simply welcome mammals into the ZPD and guide them where to go as well as dispatch any officers when a call came in. Sure, she did wish she could go out and take down criminals but the front desk wasn't so bad. She lived for the days when something exciting or strange would walk through the doors and surprise her, that day had yet to come, but things can change quickly. The sun was just rising, filling the large open room with natural light from the big open front windows, and Francine had just clocked in for work doing her daily routine of laying out the donuts and grabbing her cup of coffee before taking her seat behind the desk. She was looking at the computer in front of her when the front door opened. After working at the desk she knew when something was out of the ordinary, like someone arriving earlier than expected. She normally got there first then Bogo would be in almost exactly half an hour later, but today the door opened only ten minutes after she had gotten there, and as soon as she looked up her jaw dropped at what she saw.

Bogo came in first followed by a small group of mammals four of which were wearing uniforms with various colors. Two red foxes, a silver fox (although he seemed almost an orangey-grey at this point), and a smaller mammal in a hood, the only mammal left was a jack rabbit who was holding a small bag.

"Uhh, good morning Chief Bogo" Francine said her voice laced with the same confusion on her face.

"Good morning Trunkaby, I won't be able to make it to make it to roll call today so just tell everyone all their assignments are the same. The night crew will be coming in soon with a lot of criminals for booking so keep two extra mammals here to help with the process. I have some business to take care of" Bogo said, he was tired and Francine could easily tell by the bags under his eyes. Instead of questioning it she simply nodded in response, watching as the group made their way to the stairs, up to the top floor, and then disappearing into the office with the door closing behind them.

"Well that's one way to start the day"

* * *

The office felt much more cramped then it normally did, probably because of the fact that there were now six mammals instead of three. It was silent as everyone settled in, the three adults passing around a coffee pot filling their own cups in the process.

"So, where shall we start?" Bogo asked, taking in the group in front of him, 'this is the strangest group I've ever seen' he thought to himself.

"Well we should introduce ourselves I'm Ed-" Edward started before Bogo held up his paw cutting off the fox,

"That won't be necessary Edward, I've been learning as much as I could about you two since you first popped up at Cliffside all those years ago. I knew who you two were the day you first stepped into Zootopia, including the existence of a certain son you have." He turned towards the now dull orange fox sitting in the chair next to the violet eyed rabbit.

"Oh, well then I suppose we should start back at that day" Edward said awkwardly,

* * *

 _It was about eight in the morning when the raid began. Police cars surrounded the building, and if it wasn't for that the building would look like a beautiful hospital. But the horrors inside were what made the building ugly, it started when police lieutenant Adonis Bogo had followed a van he knew was carrying a kidnapped bison. He tracked it all the way to the hospital and called it in stating probable cause as well as requesting a warrant and at least fifteen more officers to help in shutting the place down. He had been investigating the missing mammals as well as the hospital for a little over a year now and today was the day he wanted to bring it to the ground. He didn't understand the importance of super hero's or having them on your side at this point as Zootopia was always monitored by the ZPD, he wasn't doing this to stop some plan, he just wanted all the kidnapped mammals to return to their families._

 _It had been twenty minutes since his call and other officers had yet to arrive, and in his young age Bogo was a bit of a risky mammal, so as soon as he got the warrant he took advantage of the surprise and drove up to the toll gate at the end of the bridge leading up to building. A panda bear in a security uniform stepped out from the small building and walked up to the window of the cruiser,_

" _Do you have an appointment today sir?" The panda asked, Bogo took the laptop off its tray and showed the panda the warrant that was currently displayed on it._

" _No I actually have a warrant to search the premises, and I will have other officers coming in after me" Bogo said. The panda read the warrant word for word, being sure that it was authentic before waving the Cape buffalo through._

 _He stopped the car stepping out and taking in the sheer size of the building, as well as the waterfall that towered over it. Walking through the front door it surprised him just how normal everything seemed, but he knew it was all just a façade for the horrors that were hidden behind the doors._

" _Hello sir how can I help you today?" Asked a gazelle who was seated behind a plexy glass wall._

" _Yeah I would like to see the mammals in charge here, I know there are two of them and I know they are here. I have a warrant to search this place but it would much easier if they just came out here" Bogo said, he noticed that when he mentioned the warrant the gazelle's pupils shrunk and she started to reach for something under the desk, the movement was small but didn't go unnoticed as the alarm went off. The gazelles paw came back to the top of the desk as Bogo saw that she was now holding a gun. 'Oh shit' , the gazelle forced the gun and some of her arm through the small hole in the glass aiming it at the buffalo. Luckily he was faster, as he smacked the hand strong enough to make her drop the gun, he then pulled out his taser grabbed her paw and forced the two prongs into her arm. She seized up and then dropped to the floor as the alarm blared on._

 _The doors leading further into the building burst open and out came several mammals of varying sizes rush out with guns. He quickly dove behind the corner pulling out the only other weapon he had which was his tranquilizer gun, shots rung out and impacted the wall right where Bogo used to be standing. He suddenly realized that this was going to be it, they were gonna turn the corner and put a bullet into his head. But something else caught his attention, he looked out the front of the building through the large windows to see something flying in his direction. He watched closely as the figure closed in on his location, that was when he realized that it was actually two mammals, and they weren't slowing down either. Bogo covered his face with his arms just as the glass smashed in. He then heard the sound of fighting and gunshots, he uncovered his face and peaked around the corner to see the two mammals taking down the gun carrying mammals. They were doing good too, Bogo watched as the mammals, who were half his size take out mammals that he would have struggled to take down. 'So these are super's hm?' He thought to himself, when they had finished off the last mammal they stepped back to check their work, however they missed a moose who they must have not hit hard enough as they started to stand up. Bogo stood up and shot the moose down with his tranquilizer before he could even get his body off the ground, the shot gaining the attention of the two mammals who reacted by getting into stances that looked like they were about to attack. Bogo raised his hands, showing that he was no threat,_

" _Calm down, I'm just an officer" he said, that seemed to calm the two down as they lowered their guard. He took the opportunity to look closer at the two, they were wearing full body outfits complete with masks and hoods. He couldn't even tell what species they were with how well they were covered, one of them was red and the other was blue._

" _Great we can actually use your help with this, we were just gonna capture the two in charge and drop them off at the ZPD." The red one said in a deep voice that definitely didn't match his size,_

" _Yeah I can take care of those two, and there are more officers on the way to take care of anyone else. The main goal is to get to them and free all the prisoners as well"_

" _That is perfect, wow I didn't think this would go so smoothly. Thank you officer…" the blue one spoke this time, her voice a deep voice but he could still tell it was one of a female. It took Bogo a second to realize that she was asking for his name,_

" _Oh, lieutenant Bogo at your service", He said reaching out his paw, "and you are…"_

" _Just call me Wild One" the red one said,_

" _And I'm Scarlet Fang" the blue one said. They all shook paws before setting off into the building._

 _Clearing out the building was relatively easy, many of the guards were spread out which allowed Scarlet to fly in and take them out while the other two just watched. Wild One must have noticed the awe on Bogo's face,_

" _First time working with super's?" He asked. Bogo looked down at the smaller mammal,_

" _Yeah, I've never seen mammals of your size take down mammals that are larger than them" Bogo said looking back down the hallway seeing that it was now clear._

" _Don't worry, you'll get used to it" Wild One said heading down the hall after his partner._

" _Wait, what do you mean by that?" Bogo asked following after the masked mammal. He never did respond to that question but Bogo would later find out why._

 _They eventually made it to the top floor after about thirty minutes of constant fighting, they were tired but still had the adrenaline to carry on._

" _Bogo, do you copy?" A voice came over the radio strapped to his waist, he quickly unhooked it and brought it to his face,_

" _Bogo here, I am currently on the top floor of the hospital, every other floor is clear and has mammals who are unconscious and ready to be arrested. There are also mammals being held prisoner all over the place, I am currently working with two super's to get to the two in charge. I will bring them down when we are all done here." He finished shut he radio off and strapped it back to his belt, he didn't want to lose the element of surprise that they had by a radio call out._

 _The top floor was smaller than every other floor, only having four rooms, they each took a room clearing it of any guards and taking note of what else was in the room. Once they were all back into the hallway they locked eyes before looking at the fourth and final door._

 _This was it, they had to be inside here, Bogo knew exactly what he was looking for as did Wild One and Scarlet Fang. With one simple kick by Wild One, the door burst open revealing two ewe's standing over the very bison that Bogo was tracking earlier. The two ewes stared wide eyed at the three mammals standing in the door way, one sitting next to the bison and the other holding a syringe full of a golden liquid._

" _Mister and Missus Belleweather you are under arrest!"_

 _The two went peacefully, they were led down to the ground floor where they were cuffed, read their rights, and sent off to the ZPD for booking. The rest of the guards were also being sent out, vans full of cuffed criminals were shipped out and towards the city. There were also almost a hundred mammals who were the prisoners, they were being treated with much more care but getting sent to the ZPD where they would hopefully be reunited with their families. All that was left now was a few officers and the media waiting for their chance to get a look at what happened. He walked over to the two hero's who were talking to the current chief of police, Chief Ivory, the rhino who had entrusted him with the case in the first place. Just as Bogo was getting to the group the chief stepped back and began to walk towards the other officers, he locked eyes with Bogo and stopped the Cape buffalo in his tracks,_

" _We're going to have a chat about how to follow procedures when you get back to the precinct, understand?" The old rhino asked. Bogo swore in his mind but nodded in response, he had gone against what the handbook said. But what surprised him the most was when the rhino actually smiled, something he had never seen before,_

" _Good job today" that was the last thing he said as he stepped away from Bogo. The Cape buffalo walked over to the two super hero's who simply stared at him as he walked up (or at least that's all he could see other than their masked faces)._

" _Thanks for the help in there" he said down to the two mammals,_

" _We should be the ones thanking you, you made our lives significantly easier" Scarlet said._

 _"Just doing my job. Will I be seeing you two around Zootopia?"_

" _Well we will be seeing you as normal citizens, but you probably won't be seeing us for awhile except for in the news. But who knows we may work together again someday" Wild said this time wrapping his arm around Scarlet who did the same thing._

" _Stay safe out there Bogo" Scarlett said as she slowly lifted off the ground,_

" _You too, I look forward to working with you" Bogo said giving the two a salute as they took off into the sky._

* * *

"It was three years after then that I discovered your true identity, as well as the fact that you had a newborn son. But I've never told anyone and I don't plan on telling anyone about any of your identities as I realize how essential you are to the city" Bogo wrapped up the story and leaned back in his chair letting it all settle for a few moments.

"Well, we were essential" Edward said taking a huge sip of his coffee wishing it was something a bit more alcoholic. Bogo looked at him confused,

"What do you mean?"

"The whole reason that Magnus captured us was to take our powers away from us, it was revenge for what we did to their parents" Edward said looking sadly into his coffee cup as it was now empty. Bogo was shocked, in all his years of taking down criminals he had never heard of such a thing happening, then again Bogo didn't really know how many mammals in Zootopia had special abilities.

"I'm sorry to hear that" he said with actual sympathy in his voice.

"Eh its not that bad, I mean we did just retire. We're just going to have to learn to cope and live like normal mammals" Amelia said this time trying to sound optimistic, but to everyone in the room it sounded forced. Everyone then noticed that a certain duo was being awfully quiet given all the information that was just shared. Bogo looked over at Nick and Judy who were looking at each other, he knew what that meant but his parents were confused as their faces changed like they were having a conversation without any words from being shared.

"Anything you two would like to share" Edward said attracting their attention away from each other.

"Based on the story you just told we know who Magnus is" Judy said. Everyone was shocked at the revelation, the three adults didn't know of any connection from their story.

"Well you said it yourself Edward, they are doing all this to get revenge on what you did to their parents. So clearly they are the child of those two mammals, and there is a mammal in our school named Dawn Belleweather so she must be Magnus unless she has other siblings" Judy finished. Edward and Amelia looked at Bogo who looked at them with surprise, how did they not think of that.

"I didn't think that the Belleweathers had a child" Amelia said to the older mammals in the room.

"They don't" came a new voice that had yet to speak up the entire time, it was Jack who was seated on the floor still typing away on his laptop.

"They didn't have any actually have any natural born children but they adopted one ewe just before all of this happened" he said.

"Wait, how old is she? Because right now she is enrolled as a senior in Sky High, heck she's also the class president which means she must have the respect of some mammals. But if she was around before all of this happened then she must be nearly twenty years old" Nick asked.

"According to her birth certificate she is twenty years old, but on her high school ID she is eighteen" Jack said. Everything was starting to make sense now, she has been planning this for years and went through high school to get her plan to where it is. Then another realization came into play,

"Does she have natural powers?" Edward asked causing Jack to type away on his laptop once again as he searched for an answer.

"No she doesn't" And with that the puzzle was solved in Nicks head.

"So Dawn is doing all of this because her parents gave her the powers she now has, which is telepathy, which is what Magnus uses rarely to defend herself. She barely uses it in order to try and keep her cover, and she is so grateful for her parents gift to her and so upset by what happened to them that she has been planning this for years and now it is all starting to play out" Nick said confidently, they had figured it out. They knew the mammal behind the mask as well as the motive, two of the things he had learned that are necessary when taking down a villain. The room was silent as everyone pondered what Nick said, it made sense to them.

"Well, it seems you are leaving the city in good hands" Bogo said to the two adult foxes who were smiling proudly at the two.

"Of course Bogo, we wouldn't just live you with some random mammals. It's part of the Wilde way to be a good problem solver, and Judy is practically a Wilde at this point" Edward said, the attention didn't last much longer as everyone simultaneously yawned.

"Well I don't think we will be seeing Magnus or Dawn anytime so-" Bogo said but was interrupted by Judy.

"Wait she is planning an attack!" She practically yelled.

"What?" The three adults asked at the same time.

"When we first saw the gas being used she explained that she plans to use it at the Sky High dance on Friday, she wants to remove powers from all the mammals at that school so that no one can stop her"

"Wow wow wow, how long have you known this?" Amelia asked. The night Nick was kidnapped was just three days ago, but at this point it felt like months ago.

"We found out three days ago, I was going to tell you last night but the alarm went off right when I was about to say it. I didn't know any of this would happen" Nick said guiltily.

"It's alright, we can plan around this. But we can't plan when we aren't mentally all here, and I don't know about you all but I need to sleep" Bogo said standing up from his chair. There was a collective agreement among all mammals to meet up again as soon as possible when they were all awake and with that they all separated.

* * *

An officer drove the four home while a different officer drove Jack to the ZBI. It was a quiet ride home, Nick was starting to get tired of being in a police cruiser and thought about he would never want to be an officer. Once they were at the house they all walked in silently going to their own rooms, Nick went into his room, unzipped his suit, threw on a pair of boxers and fell on his bed almost immediately falling asleep.

* * *

When he woke up the sun was still shining through the cracks of his window curtain but he could tell by the orangey hue that it was low in the sky. His brain was struggling to figure out which way was up and which way was down, nothing made sense, time was an enigma (almost like a never ending quarantine where he couldn't leave his house). After sitting there for thirty minutes he finally decided to get up, although his body rebelled as pain shot through him reminding him of the beating he got on the roof. He stood up and made his way to the bathroom, flicked on the light and stared at what he saw in the mirror. Nick Wilde looked like an absolute mess, his fur was sticking up in all different direction, his eyes were blood shot, there was dried blood (that he couldn't tell if it was his or not), and the silver fur dye was still on (barely) but he only applied it to his head, hands, and feet and now that he was just in his boxers and not his suit he could tell just how insane he looked. But after a long shower he looked as good as new, but certainly didn't feel much better as his body ached and every other part of him was still tired. After using a towel to dry himself off his fur was fluffy and soft just the way he liked it. He wrapped himself in the towel before leaving and heading back to his room, once he was in and closed the door behind him he dropped the towel and laid back down on his bed, he didn't know why he could barely comprehend what day it was so lying down on his bed naked seemed pretty normal.

However some sense was smacked into him when his door opened, he yelped as he scrambled to cover himself before being seen in the buff. Unfortunately his scrambling was enough to knock him off the bed bringing his blanket with him. He grumbled in pain from falling off the bed causing the injuries he had to spring back up. "Don't you know how to knock?" He said before peeking out from underneath the blanket, he was not expecting for his eyes to lock with violet eyes.

Judy was standing in the door way, her eyes wide and her ears tucked behind her head. Nick didn't have to be close to her to tell that her ears and face were heating up.

"I was just uh… gonna tell you dinner is ready" She said. The two held an awkward silence for what felt like an eternity before she slowly closed the door, "I promise I didn't see anything".

Nick could tell she was lying but didn't say anything as she closed the door. After a few minutes of struggling out of his blanket, getting changed, and making himself look somewhat presentable he walked out of his room.

He was relieved to see that everyone at the table looked equally as distraught as he did, his parents were dressed casually and Judy was dressed for comfort matching Nicks level of comfort.

"Well its good to see you as a red fox again Nick" Edward said sarcastically. A pizza was sitting in the center of the table, the smell of which reminded Nick of just how hungry he was.

"Har har very funny, but I also have no idea what you're talking about" Nick said grabbing a plate and a slice of the pizza, sitting next to Judy who was also eating a slice. As he passed her, Nicks tail gently brushed up against her leg sending sparks through her and causing her ears to heat up yet again.

"So how are you two doing?" Nick asked cautiously after taking a bite, he knew this must be new to them and wanted to be sure that they were okay.

"We're doing fine Nick, sure its strange not having any responsibility, but not in a bad way. We actually slept for more than seven hours for the first time in years, being retired and powerless isn't so bad" Amelia said trying to sound convincing. To Judy it might have sounded genuine but to Nick he could tell that she wasn't fully bought into what she was saying, and knowing this he didn't press any further while they all sat and enjoyed the food.

He ate three slices before realizing something obvious that escaped everyone's mind,

"Carrots?" She put down her piece and looked up at him,

"Yeah?"

"We missed another day of school" for some reason he found it funny and started to laugh. They had been doing so well, months had passed since the last day they missed school and now they missed another one. Judy couldn't understand what was so funny, she hated missing school and considering how busy they were and how much homework she was assigned she couldn't really handle missing more days of school. Meanwhile Edward and Amelia watched on in confusion as their son continued to laugh.

His laughter died down and the dinner went on peacefully,

"We are going to meet with Bogo tonight at the station in order to create a plan for the next attack" Edward said once all the pizza was gone. Nick then thought about how much work he had to do,

"Well I better get to work now then before we go so I'm not struggling when we go to school tomorrow"

The group dispersed and did whatever they had to do to prepare for the meeting, from homework, to taking another nap. It was very… unproductive but necessary. And soon the time came to leave, so they all piled in the car (that had rarely been used) and left for the precinct.

* * *

Francine didn't work too late but tried to stay as long as she could, and considering the morning she had she wanted to stay to see if anything else would happen. Bogo had already come back and was now up in his office doing whatever it was that he does. The door opened attracting her attention, she was expecting someone from the night crew or maybe a day worker bringing in one more criminal. But instead she was met by an interesting group, three foxes and a rabbit. 'Wait' she thought to herself as she took a double take at the group, for some reason she got a weird feeling of déjà vu as the group walked up the stairs towards Bogo's office. It definitely wasn't as exciting as the morning group but still interesting, plus the fact that they didn't even stop to ask her where to go as if they've done it before. Francine watched them all the way until the door to Bogo's office was shut. She simply shrugged it off before clocking out for the day.

* * *

"Tell us everything you know about this plan" Edward said to Nick and Judy. The pair looked at each other, Judy nodding to him telling him that he could say it.

"Well she has this machine that is going to be attached to the air conditioning unit that will disperse the gas into the gym where the dance will be happening. She assigned a group of mammals to the job, five of them, it was a lynx, a tiger, a lion, a wolf, and a brown bear. The bear is the one in charge, his name being Sargent Grizz. I don't think they were in the building last night so they are still out there, and the machine got on the heliocopter with Magnus when she escaped." Nick thought about anything else that he could tell, that was basically the whole plan that he could think of.

"Oh! The group is going to get up to the school by disguising as repairmen to 'fix' the AC and she also said that she would be on call if necessary" Judy added.

"Okay, I think I have an idea of how we can handle this. Here's the plan…" Bogo said. The group then went through the whole plan of how they would stop the attack from ever happening and hopefully do it without anyone ever noticing. Once the plan was done the group went home, returning to whatever work they were doing before.

* * *

The alarm woke Nick from his slumber, he merely grumbled in response before shutting it off. His routine felt strange after all that had happened over the last few days, but hey it was Wednesday so it meant they were one more day closer to the attack. It refused to leave his mind as he brushed his teeth and got ready for the day, like a shadow looming over him. Whenever he thought about it his blood would start pumping, but he had no idea why. Maybe the thrill of being a hero was finally hitting him, since now technically he was one. But either way he still had school to get to so he pressed on.

The rest of the morning moved on normally and after a smooth bus ride they were at the school. Now according to their plan they weren't supposed to interact with Belleweather in anyway, she knew who they were but they didn't know who she was as far as she knew.

Once again everyone was raving about the Phantom Fox and Violet Vigilante, no one knew that Wild One and Scarlet Fang had lost their powers and Nick hoped to keep it that way. As far as anyone knew they just retired and disappeared, however news of the bust at Cliffside was spreading like wild fire as well as the look that the two had.

Nick and Judy didn't talk to much, deciding it was best to head to their classes considering they missed a day of class.

As usual everyone was seated and talking just like the mammals out in the hall,

"Do you think those two are dating?"

"No way they are totally two different species that would be gross"

"I had no idea there were such a thing as a silver fox, what species do thing Violet is?"

The conversations went along those lines while everyone waited for classes to start. Nick closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head relaxing while taking in all that he heard just in case anyone had any real clue so that he could steer them off of it if necessary.

"Hey Wilde," came a call from across the room from everyone's favorite rhino, Nick opened one eye looking over at the him, "You ever seen a silver fox before?" He asked. Nick actually thought about that, he knew they existed but were extremely rare and in all of his years he had never seen one.

"No I don't think I have, why do you ask?" He already knew why he was asking but wanted to play dumb just in case. The rhino squinted his eyes at him as if getting suspicious,

"Man I think that Wilde back there could be the Phantom Fox" he said to the lady jaguar sitting next to him who was paying attention to the conversation.

"Why would you say that" she asked,

"Yeah that's a pretty bold claim especially when you think a powerless fox is a super hero. Although I appreciate it." Nick said.

"Well think about it, he never has any idea what is going on with the Phantom Fox, he is a fox himself, and he wasn't here yesterday when yesterday morning was when that big bust happened. I don't know that seems like a little more than just a coincidence" The rhino said. Nick started to get nervous but tried hard not to let it show,

'Dang he's actually on to me' he thought to himself. Now everyone in the class was looking at him, having tuned in when they heard the name Phantom Fox.

"Well I don't really care about some fox hero which is why I don't know about him. Second of all, I am a fox but do I look silver to you. And lastly, I was really sick yesterday and just didn't come to school. Trust me I wish I was the phantom fox because then I wouldn't have to come here, I could just live on my own and save the city." Nick said sounding as convincing as he could. That answer seemed to satisfy the class as the teacher walked in and started the lecture, but the rhino locked eyes with him still looking suspicious before turning to the front to avoid being screamed at.

Nick let out a sigh of relief, 'that was close, can't wait to see how the rest of the day goes'

 **Slow chapter I know but this is the build up to what is to come in the next chapter. I can't wait to finish off this part of the story for you all and then get started on the next part. Anyways I had a few guesses as to who Nick is modeled after, such as Starfire from Teen Titans which is a great guess and honestly one that I didn't think of. But the actual character was from a TV show that I watched growing up and is still a hit to this day, Danny Phantom, the green eyes are a coincidence but all of the powers and the suits design is based off of it with the black and grey. Great show, if you've never heard of it well then you must have had a rough childhood or something and I'm sorry for you. Anyways we are still locked down where I am, but the beaches are starting to open which is scary. I'm going to stay inside for now just to stay safe. Go wash your hands and stay safe out there!**


	24. Chapter 23: The Storm Rages

Friday came quick, and the energy in the school was surging as students prepared for the dance as well as well as the fact that school was going to be out for three weeks for winter break. The talk in the halls meandered away from the Phantom Fox and Violet Vigiliante and became more and more about who was going with who, as well what everyones winter plans were. Nick listened to what some of the mammals were saying, from heading to the mountains of Tundra Town with family to traveling with friends down south to the coast, everyone had their own plans. Nick was planning on just staying at home with his family, and he knew that Judy was planning on going back to BunnyBurrow, overall it was going to be a quiet Christmas.

But the winter holidays were not on the minds of Nick and Judy, they were thinking about the plan as well as keeping an eye out for a certain ewe. They hadn't seen Belleweather in school over the last two days, and whenever they asked other mammals they all said she had left early for winter break (a likely story), either way they continued to watch their back.

The day went on smoothly other than that, most of the classes consisted of midterm tests so they all flew quickly, the amount of energy certainly helped. And after three completed tests they now sat at their lunch table with the usual suspects.

"There's gonna be all my family there, we're all gonna stay in log cabins, and there is going to be soooo much food!" Clawhauser was explaining his plans for the break while everyone ate their lunch.

"Hmm sounds better than my vacation, I'm just staying with my family at home. At least you're going somewhere." Wolford said with his ears behind his head, he had nothing against his family but a whole three weeks with just them wasn't his favorite idea for winter break.

"Hey at least you have siblings I'm going to be with just my parents, so I win" Nick said, he wasn't actually upset about it, that's how he spent his winter break every year so it was nothing new.

"I couldn't even imagine a winter alone, I have 275 siblings waiting for me at home" Judy added in, both Clawhauser"s and Wolford's jaw dropped at the number that Judy said. Nick knew about the high number but could never remember it exactly so this was not news to him.

"I'm sorry you have how many?" Wolford asked still surprised.

"275, although supposedly there is another litter on the way" Judy said. Their amazement didn't fade while she returned to lunch, they then looked over at Nick who just shrugged in response before returning to his own lunch. Said fox occasionally looked up and around the cafeteria as if looking for something specific, he did it so sporadically that no one noticed, no one except the rabbit sitting next to him. But she knew what he was looking for and didn't pay it any mind as she was kind of looking for it too. It was around this time that Magnus said the group would enter the school to "make the repairs", now it wasn't part of the plan to confront them here as they were still students and didn't want to get in trouble for being where they weren't supposed to be. They still wanted to know when and if they arrived, just so they know that Magnus's plan was moving forward and lining up with theirs.

"My three o'clock, the five are moving with the cargo" Judy whispered to him. Nick glanced up quickly before looking back down, in that look he saw the five mammals being led by a janitor towards the room that would take them to the roof. The two mammals in the far back were carrying a box that Nick knew held the machine as well as the gas. They were disguised pretty well and if Nick didn't know who they were then he would just think that they were normal repairmen, all dressed up in coveralls and carrying bags and boxes. 'Well these are professionals' he thought to himself as they disappeared out of view. Nick pulled out his phone and typed out a text,

"They just arrived at the school, right on time" he sent the message out to the group and then put his phone away. There was something about knowing the danger that all these mammals were in that made Nick weary of who saw. No one was looking at him though, just enjoying the last lunch with their friends.

'If only they knew…'

* * *

"Aww, my handsome little fox is going to his first dance" Amelia said taking pictures, to Nicks embarrassment.

"Mom would you relax we're not even really going to the dance" he said pulling at his collar. He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, he wasn't used to dress clothes and these ones specifically made him feel claustrophobic, especially the purple bow tie that was slowly choking him out. It didn't help that his super suit beneath the dress suit made it feel like he was being weighed down by cloth.

They were standing out at the front of the house taking pictures, also they were waiting for Judy to finish getting ready. But in the mean time Amelia was moving Nick to different places and snapping pictures of him in different poses, to Nicks disgruntlement. Now they were standing by the front door and Amelia had Nick leaning against the door looking off into the distance like a model posing for a magazine. Suddenly, the door he was leaning on opened, causing him to fall back and into the house.

He could hear the laughter of his parents as well as another mammal who was standing just above him. The laughter was like music to his ears even if it was directed at him, he opened his eyes to see Judy standing above him covering her mouth to hide her laughter.

She was beautiful, she was wearing a violet, strapless, silky dress that matched her eyes. She was wearing make-up but it didn't change her, it simply made her look even better. Just the sight of her was enough to make Nick sweat, he could only watch from the ground with his jaw hanging open while she laughed above him. He eventually snapped out of his stupor and stood up, bring sure to brush himself clean of anything that might have stuck onto his suit,

"Yes laugh, go ahead. She didn't almost just ruin my suit or anything" Nick said in mock frustration.

"Well maybe next time you shouldn't lean on the door" Judy said brushing past him and out the door.

"B… But she… It wasn't… Ugh!" Nick was actually flustered now as Judy started laughing again.

Amelia led them around taking pictures wherever she saw fit until Nick and Judy were already tired and they hadn't even gotten to the dance yet. Once Amelia was satisfied wit her pictures the two left heading for the bus stop.

There were very few ways to get to the school as it was up in the air, so the school paid the drivers extra to drive students up and back down for the school dance. Students and parent chaperones went up at different times so that there were no awkward situations on the bus, so Nick and Judy waited at the stop with a bunch of other nicely dressed mammals. Anyone who drove by would be very confused seeing a bunch of random teens dressed up like they were ready for a night on the town.

Nick and Judy had yet to actually go public so tonight was going to be a show stopper in many different ways, they would do a bit of dancing to show that they were there so no one would think that they and the two hero's would have a connection. If the plan went perfectly then no one would even see the two hero's in action, but just in case they wanted to steer away any thoughts of connections between Nick and Judy, and the Phantom Fox and Violet Vigilante.

The bus ride was strange, normally they went up in the morning and afternoon but now it was the evening and as the bus crested over the clouds the sun could be seen setting causing everyone to let out "ooh's" and aww's". The bus landed gently on the front of the school and let everyone off, there were mammals all over the place, taking pictures with their friends or simply waiting to go in.

Nick looked at Judy one last time just before they got off the bus, he took her paw and gave it a squeeze bringing her attention up to him.

"You ready?" He asked, this night would change their lives forever, good or bad.

"Of course Slick, lets go have some fun" She said pulling him off the bus. It didn't take long for them to get looks as they stepped off the bus and walked around looking for their friends. Judy was the first to find what she was looking for as she pulled him towards a familiar cheetah.

"Clawhauser!" She called out gaining the attention of the cheetah.

"Hey Judy! Hey Nick! You two look great" he said happily.

"You look good too Ben, who did you end up coming with?" Judy asked. He was dressed in a blue shirt and black pants that suited him well.

"Oh I'm here by myself, but its okay I'll just bop around with some friends and have a good time. Now come on Wolford's over here too" Clawhauser said taking them towards a small group. The group consisted of Wolford, the rhino from Nicks first period as well as the leopard, and of course Wolford. Nick slowed when he saw the rhino, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of him because of how close he was to figuring out Nicks super hero identity. Ben saw Nick slow down and looked over at the fox, connecting the dots quickly between the two.

"Nick don't worry about McHorn, he is a nice guy once you get to know him I promise, same with Pouncer." Ben said. Nick trusted Ben but was still going to keep his guard up around the two.

"Jarod McHorn and Sylvia Pouncer this is Judy Hopps and I'm sure you are familiar with Nick Wilde" the cheetah introduced the two.

"Oh if it isn't the Phantom Fox himself" McHorn said quickly getting elbowed by the leopard.

"Be nice will you? It's the last day before break and we're all here to have fun" Sylvia said. Wolford let out a laugh at the display, seeing the smaller mammal boss around the rhino was strange but somehow seemed familiar. He then turned back to Nick and Judy noticing their linked paws.

"Wow when did that happen?" He asked out loud. Everyone's eyes drifted to the two smallest mammals and were shocked to see the two holding paws, well all except Clawhauser.

"Awhile ago, just kept it hidden. You know for obvious reasons" Nick said, "That's not a problem is it?" If his own friends couldn't deal with it then this was going to be interesting. Instead of answering Wolford grabbed the Sylvia and pulled her close in a romantic way.

"No, that's not a problem at all"

Now it was everyone else's turn to be surprised, Nick had no idea that Wolford was in a relationship let alone an inter-species one. Clawhauser still wasn't surprised by it,

"Wait Ben you knew?" Nick asked. The cheetah nodded in response,

"Yeah I've known about both of your relationships for as long as you've had them"

"Well that makes things awkward for me, now I'm all alone because everyone here has a date. No Ben, I'm not looking for that kind of relationship" McHorn now spoke up. Everyone laughed and started walking towards the front door, all the cares of who saw or who knew disappeared. They were just here to have a fun night, and that's all that mattered.

* * *

"Ugh, I can't believe this is part of the plan" Amelia said to Edward. They were currently standing behind the refreshment table handing out snacks to sweaty students, they were nicely dressed but still sweaty. The two of them signed up to be chaperones when they created the plan, it was easy as not many parents wanted to impede on their kids night out, heck neither of them wanted to be there but were there watching out for anything suspicious. But all they saw right now was a gym with flashing lights full of mammals all dancing. Edward was watching the door waiting for a specific pair to enter, the dance started fifteen minutes ago and he had yet to see them. That is until he saw a group walk in, the two mammals in question being with that group.

Edward turned to face the wall and reached into his ear, he pushed the button on the tiny radio allowing communication to now happen.

"Check check, is this thing on?" Edward spoke.

"Yes we can hear you" came Judy's voice

"Alright time for roll call. Nick and Judy?" Edward went on to be sure everyone had their radios on.

"Check" Both mammals said.

"Bogo and Savage?"

"We are all set outside for surveillance" Bogo's voice came through. Getting them up there wasn't hard, there was always a police on the floating island for events like this, just in case anything happened.

"Alright we're all here and ready to go, Jack let us know when you see movement on the roof" Edward said before flipping off the audio on his radio.

* * *

The dance was great, the gym had been completely transformed into a dance floor. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling and colored lights shined from all over the place. The music was so loud that it was difficult to hear people yelling, but no one cared everyone was focused on dancing and getting intimate with their dates or anyone else they could find. Nick and Judy were near the middle of it all, being sure to avoid being stepped on by larger mammals, they enjoyed their intimate time being sure to stay close to the middle knowing Nick's parents were there. All the pent up lust that they had from not being able to do anything at the house finally being released as they held each other close. They didn't are who was looking they were just focused on each other, just how it should be. Eventually the sweat got to them and they decided to take a break. Making it out of the mass of mammals was easier said than down as they were almost trampled three times before making it to fresh air. They immediately headed towards the refreshment table looking for water. There were cups covering the table full of water as well as small snacks for everyone, of course the grabbed two cups each downing them quickly before reaching for more.

"Well looks like you two are having fun" came a voice from across the table. Nick lowered his cup just enough to see who it was, and of course it was his parents.

"Yeah, having a great time" Nick said grabbing another cup. Edward took in just how sweaty the two were, they actually looked like they had been dunked into a pool. Nicks once neat and sleek suit was now crumpled up and wrinkled, Judys once sleek dress was now a shade darker of purple and wrinkled as well.

"What about you two? You must be having a blast" Nick said sarcastically.

"Oh just ecstatic to be filling cups of water a bunch of high schoolers" Amelia said looking at her phone.

Once the two had their fill of water they said their goodbyes before returning to the dance floor, just in time for the slow dance.

"Alright everybody, grab that special someone and hold them close because we're gonna slow it down" the DJ said.

Nick gently grabbed Judy by the waist and pulled her close so that they were chest to chest. She smiled up to him with love in her eyes that Nick returned. It was as if they were spinning in a different world as they swayed back and forth only focusing on each other. It was perfect, a moment they truly never would forget.

But all good things must come to an end.

"We've got movement on the roof" came the hectic call of Jack through the radio. Nick couldn't help it as he let out a growl of frustration, but quickly tamped it down as he released Judy. He tapped his radio allowing the audio to feed through,

"Alright we're moving to get setup" Nick said. The two ran out of the mob and over to the table where Nick's parents were waiting with two bags. Nick grabbed the bag but couldn't pry it from Edwards grasp, Nick looked at him confused. Edward was looking at him with concern on his face,

"Stay safe Nick, please." Edward said quietly. Nick stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug.

"I will, I promise" Edward let go of his son and gave him the bag as he disappeared around the corner.

The two mammals went into their separate bathrooms and got ready.

Judy pulled her ears back and tied them down, her dress slid down revealing her violet suit that was waiting underneath. There was one thing left in her bag and that was her mask which she quickly donned on her face before stuffing her dress into the bag and leaving the bathroom.

Nick had to work on getting his suit off, starting with the jacket, then the shirt, then the pants until finally his suit was only thing to be seen. That and his orange fur. His bag only had one thing, a much more heavy duty silver fur dye that would last through rain, sweat, and getting shot (in case that happened). He sprayed every in of exposed fur, making sure that no red could be seen anywhere. It took him awhile to get his entire tail but the outcome was well worth it when Nick looked in the mirror. The only colors that could be seen were black on the tip of his ears and tail, and the black of his suit. He put every part of his dress suit into the bag and then left the bathroom. Judy was outside waiting for him,

"What took you so long?" She asked her voice having changed to its deeper and smoother version.

"It takes awhile to completely change fur color alright? Now lets go" the two took off, leaving their bags just outside the gym where Edward and Amelia would pick them up. "Jack whats happening?" Nick asked over the radio, his voice having changed into its deep and rough version.

"There are two on the roof, it looks like Sargent Grizz is on the roof with the tiger, he has the detonator with him but he looks like he is talking to someone over the radio. But I don't see anyone else moving in the whole school" Jack said.

"Alright just keep us updated". By now the due were at the ladder that would take them to the roof, Nick paused as he grabbed the first rung and looked at Judy. Before she could react he pulled her in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, "I love you" he whispered out as his emerald eyes locked with her violet ones.

"I love you too, now let's go kick some ass"

* * *

Edward checked his watch, five minutes had passed since the call came so the bags must be ready for pick up. He tapped Amelia on the shoulder and signaled that he was going to go get them, she nodded in response. The hallways were empty, every other light was turned off casting the the whole hall in an eerie glow. The bags were right where he was expecting outside the bathroom and he scooped them up quickly before turning back to the guy.

"Alright remember, no casualties unless they start attacking we don't want to make the boss angry"

Just as Edward reentered the gym he heard a voice call out, he looked down the hall to see a group of masked mammals, all of whom had guns, walking his way.

"Oh shit" Edward said as he ran into the gym. Amelia was looking at her phone again, finding it much more interesting then the dance. She quickly noticed Edward running in with a panicked look on his face,

"What's the matter?" She asked,

"There is a group about to burst through the door and shut this whole thing down" He said quickly, almost too quick for Amelia to understand.

"That shouldn't be happening. Those two said that there were only going to be two mammals here on the roof" As she said that the doors burst open and in ran the group that Edward was talking about. The students didn't notice at first, they were too busy dancing or talking but when the music suddenly stopped it caused mammals to turn their heads to the stage.

"Nobody move!" The mammal said stealing the microphone, "if anyone tries to attack, or use their powers in any way we will open fire on you" it was then that everyone noticed that they were surrounded by mammals ready to shoot at any moment.

Edward and Amelia in the meantime ducked underneath the table and were hidden by the table cloth.

"Jack what is going on? where did these mammals come from?" Amelia whispered into her radio.

Silence

"Savage?"

* * *

Bogo considered himself an attentive mammal, and with Jacks cameras he thought that they had every angle covered. But apparently not, they were posted up outside the school inside one of the busses (they had quickly befriended the hippo driver who allowed them to sit in the bus without asking why they were there) when suddenly a large cargo plane landed on the front road. Soldiers ran off the bus moving with purpose, they had managed to sneak up on the bus and forced everyone off. So now they were lined up out front and given the orders "Speak or move and we will shoot" and Bogo was not one to test mammals who had a gun pointed at him.

There were five soldiers watching nine mammals, seven bus drivers alongside Bogo and Jack. And now two of them were going through Jack's bag of gadgets.

They could both hear Amelia calling over the mic but couldn't respond, they had been outplayed.

Or so they thought.

* * *

The hatch was already open on the roof and they knew they had the element of surprise they went up and out quietly. The cold winters night air was even colder this high up, as well as thinner, making it hard for the two to breath but not impossible.

Once they were up top they quickly hid behind the large AC vent, peeking around the side Nick saw the two mammals they were expecting. The brown bear as well as the tiger, the brown bear was still talking on the radio to someone.

"Jack what is going on? Where did these mammals come from?" Both Nick and Judy heard over the radio. They looked at each other in confusion, there shouldn't be anyone there except these two, how could there be more?

"Savage?" There was no response as Amelia called over the radio. Nick was getting worried, they must have gotten attacked as well and couldn't respond meaning that there were now mammals in the gym and out front that they didn't originally account for.

'Let's move in and take out these two, then we will figure out whats going below' Judy thought to Nick through the link. Nick nodded in response,

'I got the bear, you take the tiger. Ready go' and with that they were off. They split up Judy going left and Nick going right, the two large mammals had no idea they were there. Judy moved first Nick moving just after her as they went for the two.

Judy touched the tigers leg and forced him to sleep causing him to collapse to the ground, the move caught the attention of Sargent Grizz who turned before Nick could hit him.

"Hm I guess Magnus was right, thought you two would be coming around" he said, his voice sounding like a deep roar the whole time.

Grizz dove for Nick who dodged out of the way of the sharp claws but wasn't prepared for his hind legs to kick out and hit him right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending Nick to the ground. It didn't hurt but he couldn't catch his breath or get up, which gave Grizz the advantage as he quickly stood up and ran over to Nick. Said fox could feel the large paw surround his throat as he was lifted into the air, all chances of him catching his breath were gone as the paw tightened, blocking off his airway. Nick flailed his limbs trying to hit him in anyway, but the bear was holding him too far for any of his hits to land. The light began to fade for Nick and moving became difficult. Just before he blacked out the paw loosened and Nick fell to the ground, he heard a thud next to him but still couldn't see due to the thin air around him. It took a minute before Nicks view came back, the first thing he saw was the body of Sargent Grizz laying on the ground. A large figure stood over him, and Nicks fear spiked when he saw it was the tiger.

"It's okay Nick its just me" the tiger said before collapsing to the ground himself. Nick stood up slowly, being sure he didn't pass out from moving too quick. Judy walked over and put a paw on his back, "you okay?" She asked.

"Well aside from nearly having my throat crushed in, yeah I'm fine" Nick said. He went over to Grizz's body and reached for the remote, but before he could grab it a force pushed both him and Judy aside and into the AC unit. Nick knew that feeling anywhere and his blood ran cold because he knew who was here.

"How did I know you two would try and ruin this?" Came the usual voice of Magnus.

"Gosh if I had a dollar for every time you appear in the worst moments, I would have a few dollars." Nick said jokingly as he stood up and then helped Judy up.

Magnus ran for the remote as both Nick and Judy did, it was a foot race that he knew they could not lose. With a flick of her hand Judy flew back once again, instead of going for the remote Nick dove at Magnus sending her to the ground. This time he was on top as he started to swing his fists,

"This one is for my mother" hit, "this one is for my father" hit, "and this one is just because" hit. The blows weren't doing much other than knock her around because of the helmet she was wearing. He was fully expecting the control of his body to slip away from him as he was forced off of her and into a kneeling position with his arms out. He couldn't move no matter how hard he tried, he was stuck.

"You have been a pain in my side for too long!" She screamed before striking him in the face. Right when the fist hit him a familiar white fog filled his mind, as well as a spike of pain in his head.

"But soon you will not!" Another hit, more fog, more pain.

'No not now' Nick thought. It couldn't have been a worse time for another one of these surges to happen, and it had been months since his last one.

"And soon you will not be my god damn PROBLEM!" She screamed before kicking him directly in the gut, the control over him was released and he fell backward.

It was like he had plunged into a freezing body of water, his whole body was numb and all he wanted was to get to the surface and fill his lungs with air.

"Judy" he said out loud, as his physical eyes stared off into space and his body shivered and shook. Judy knew immediately what was going on as she watched Nicks body.

Magnus noticed but didn't care as she grabbed the fox by the cloth on his upper body and prepared for one last strike on him.

"STOP!" A voice screamed. Magnus looked over to see Judy holding the remote in her paws,

"Give me that remote!" Magnus screamed dropping Nick and using her powers to try and gain control over the remotes. Somehow getting control over it as hard as the rabbit held onto it firmly.

"Dawn, please stop!" Judy screamed holding firm against the telekinesis that was being used on her. At the mention of her true name she stopped, 'so they do know' she thought to herself.

"Look at him" Judy said. Dawn looked down at the fox who was still shaking on the ground, she began to get worried now as it had been thirty seconds since it started.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked confused at what was happening. Dawn thought that the fox was just reacting to getting hit too hard but it seemed to be something else.

"He's in trouble, this has happened before and I can help him. I will give you the remote if you just let me help him… please" Judy pleaded. Dawn thought about what the fox was needed for as well as who was truly coming for him,

'They need him alive' she thought.

"Alright but don't make any sudden movements" Magnus said stepping away from the fox. Judy walked over quickly sitting down just behind the foxes head, she carefully lifted his head up and onto her lap before putting her paws on the side of his head and focused her energy.

'It's alright Nick I gotcha' she thought into Nicks head.

* * *

Inside of his mind the cold water gave way into a frozen beach, he had washed up on there and was holding himself shivering, trying to save any heat he had left.

'It's alright Nick I gotcha' he heard echo around him.

"Judy?" He said, he stood up and started walking in the direction he thought he heard her voice emanating from. It was then that he noticed that any clothes he was wearing no longer existed as he walked through the blizzard nude, his fur was not thick enough for this weather either as the cold wind pierced directly through his skin.

'Nick you have to keep moving, I can't find you unless you keep moving' she sounded far away, and with how heavy the snow was falling he couldn't see what was directly in front of him, which is why it was a surprise when something his him directly in the stomach. The hit was enough to send him back and into the snow. He had fallen into this state twice and nether of those times had this happened. He closed his eyes while the pain slowly dulled away, the sound of the wind and snow falling suddenly stopped and was replaced by the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Upon opening his eyes he saw that the sun was out, he was still next to the body of water but there was no snow and now cold, instead it was hot, very hot.

"The forward progression of time is inevitable…" echoed a new voice around him, it was a strange voice, partly robotic but had clicks and creaking in it as if it wasn't from a mammal. "Almost like the change of seasons… mammals don't know what lies ahead… they are soft and easily destroyed… except you… what makes you special?…"

The sweat was now pouring down Nick as he walked into the forest that was just beyond the beach, hoping that the shade would protect him from the heat.

"We've been watching you… since we first discovered just how powerful you truly are… not even you can comprehend the abilities you will have… but we will meet… sooner than you think…"

Nick was walking through the forest when the sound of buzzing emanated from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see a swarm of bugs flying his way, it wasn't even like a swarm it was more like a cloud of blackness that was buzzing and moving towards him very quickly. Nick shielded his face just before it seemed like they were about to hit him, but instead of just plowing him down they parted into two groups and flew past him. When he put his hands down he was suddenly in a different place, he was in City Central where the central watering hole was, but it was full of bodies of mammals and the water ran red. There was fighting going on all around him, military mammals were shooting at some unforeseen enemy, screams could be heard in the distance as innocents were killed.

"This is what is coming… and it will be at your hand… but you already knew this…" The voice called. Nick was confused, he had never seen anything like this before, that is until something exploded behind him. He looked to see a fox rampaging around and destroying everything in his path. It was his nightmare, except now he could see outside himself for some reason. A bright light shining from above took his attention off the fox, he looked up to see a huge ship taking up the entire sky, the shining light was coming from an opening in the bottom. He then felt himself being lifted into the sky as if the ship was sucking him in.

"We will see you soon Nick…" the voice called getting gradually louder the closer he got to the ship. He was basically inside the ship surrounded by nothing but white when the hole that he came through slowly shut , his ears began to ring and the voice called out one last time, "Sooner then you think".

Darkness.

No matter where he looked he saw nothing and heard nothing.

Not even his own breathing could be heard.

'Boom… boom' a heart beat, it could have been his for all he knew. It was exceptionally slow, but picked up speed gradually as if his whole body had just hit a reset button.

He could hear something else, it was almost inaudible but Nick could hear it.

"Nick…" it was like a whisper, but he knew who it was.

The heart beat was picking up as well as the new sound of someone breathing,

"Nick!" The call was getting louder, he was giving all his efforts to wake up and help her but it was hard.

Feeling slowly returned to him as well as the knowledge of where he was, there was something new about everything but Nick couldn't quite tell what it was.

It was just like when he woke up from the hospital, he could sense all that was going on around him, he could see Judy holding him as well as some other mammal near the two, but it was difficult to tell who it was. He remembered that they were on the roof, they had just taken out two mammals, and there was…

"What's going on with him?" Came the voice he hated. All his memories flowed back and he suddenly remembered where he was and who was there as well as everything in between.

He jumped up and swung his fist with all the might he had in his body, connecting directly to Magnus's mask, the hit sent her flying across the roof, she stopped just before falling over the edge.

BOOM! Right when Nicks fist connected an explosion occurred out by the front of the school causing the whole floating platform to shake, being on top of the roof they had a clear view of it. All the buses that were originally lined up were now burst open like tin cans and pouring out flames.

"What the hell happened there?" Nick asked, Judy shrugged next to him.

* * *

"What is this some sort of drone?" The soldier said pulling out the drone as well as its control from inside Jacks bag. Most of the stuff was laid out but there were still a few things in the bag, one that Jack was waiting for them to grab.

The five guards were not in a much more relaxed position, two of them were going through the bag, two of them were leaning against the bus, leaving only one watching the nine mammals.

"Jeez why does a kid have so much tech? this makes all of our stuff look like children's toys. Like what even is this?" The soldier asked pulling out two black discs.

"Those are just high powered suction cups used to help climb buildings" Jack said gaining the attention of the soldiers.

"Okay then what is this?" He asked pulling out the last object. To any ordinary mammal it would look like just a white brick with a number pad on the front, but Jack knew exactly what he was looking at.

"It's just a safe where we store the most important of our tech" Jack said convincingly. The soldier then raised his gun at the rabbit,

"Tell me the combination, then smart guy" the soldier threatened.

"Sure it 0" Jack said preparing himself,

"Huh that's oddly easy" the soldier put down his gun and started to punch in the code, even the only soldier watching them went over to see what was inside. Once the code was punched in a beeping began that confused the soldiers but Jack knew that they had to move.

"RUN!" He yelled as he took off running. The rest took an extra moment to comprehend what was happening but soon took off after the rabbit knowing that he probably knew more than the rest of them. The soldiers turned and watched confused as all of their captives ran away. The one holding the brick looked back down at what he was holding, there was now some numbers on it that were counting down. 5… 4… He was confused but quickly understood what he was holding as the timer went down to 0.

"OH SHI-"

The explosion instantly destroyed the five soldiers as well as the bus the were next to, it caused a chain reaction as the other busses exploded.

The shockwave was powerful enough to knock all nine running mammals over. Jack turned over and looked at what destruction he had just caused, sure he felt bad but he also savored his own life more than a few busses, and he was sure that everyone else would agree.

"Good work Savage. Let's get in there and help" Bogo said as he walked over and held out a paw to the jack rabbit, which he took gratefully.

"Alright, but I have to warn you, I'm not the best fighter"

* * *

The gym was quiet, a stark contrast to what was originally going on. The mammals in the center whispered just quiet enough for the soldiers not to notice, and if they were caught they were screamed at to stop talking. Edward and Amelia were still seated beneath the table waiting for something to happen so that they could make a move, but if being hero's had taught them anything it was to wait until the time was right to strike, and right now was definitely not that time.

"Alright Grizz we're ready" the soldier at the front said into his radio.

Edward looked at Amelia knowing that it was too late to do anything now. It was silent again as they waited for students to start screaming, but it never came. They peeked out from under the table and looked at the closest AC vent, they expected to see the purple gas leaking through but there was none there.

"Uh… Grizz everything okay?" Unknown to the soldier, Grizz's radio was stuck under his unconscious body.

Edward and Amelia looked at each other knowing what this meant, Nick and Judy were doing it!

Their happiness was interrupted by the sound of an explosion as well as the whole building shaking. The suddenness of it caused many of the students to scream out in fear.

The two foxes were equally as scared but didn't let out screams,

"What is going on out there?" Edward whispered.

* * *

Nick turned away from the fire ball and looked back at Magnus to see her starting to get up.

"Call on the radio and be sure everyone is okay" he called out, "Oh no you don't" he said running towards her. He swung his arm which she easily blocked, she then flipped over him bringing down to the ground.

"I let your little bunny help you back up and this is how you repay me?" Magnus asked furiously. Nick kicked his legs out hitting Magnus's legs and causing her to fall in the process. He named on his feet and held onto her arm, bending it at an awkward angle.

"No, you take my parents power away, nearly kill me, and try to drain my powers and this is how I repay you!" He screamed as he took the arm and bent it until he heard a crack and Magnus screamed out in pain.

Her anger became too much for her so she used her back legs and flung the fox over the side of the building. Nick was shocked by the amount of power she still had even though he just broke her arm and barely let out a scream as he fell out of view. There was land beneath him but the height would still be enough to kill him, and that's what Judy feared as he fell.

"Nick!" She called out.

Magnus stood up but very carefully, taking her now broken arm and holding it with her other arm, the pain was obvious as all her movements were slow. She peaked over the edge not expecting to get hit by another strong punch sending her to the ground once again. Judy herself was in awe at what she saw, Nick was flying! He was hovering just over the edge of the building looking equally as surprised as she was. Magnus leaned up on her good elbow looking at the fox,

"How?" She let out, she had been watching him for months and had never seen him fly, how was he doing it now then?

"I'm not gonna lie. I have no idea" he said looking down and around him. Magnus looked at Judy and then back at Nick, letting out what sounded like a growl.

"Well let's see how good you are then" she said using her good arm to gain control over the rabbit and fling her off the roof past Nick. She screamed the whole way down knowing that if he didn't catch her that this would be it.

He had barely anytime to react as he flew after her, swooping back and down towards her. Once he was next to her he grabbed hold before changing his path, he couldn't quite control it yet because of the fact he just found out he had it, so instead of flying back up towards the roof he flew straight into the glass of the gym which instantly shattered.

Meanwhile Magnus stood up and felt for any damage on her suit, her visor was cracked but still hid most of face so she was safe.

'The remote' she thought to herself. She searched the roof for the device but couldn't find it anywhere. She then realized that she knew exactly where it was,

"The rabbit" she spat out. The masked mammal went up to the machine and used her telekinesis to rip it apart, taking out the flask full of liquid no bigger than a water bottle, the whole whole container dumped on a mammal could certainly strip them of their powers, a small amount wouldn't be enough to do anything so it would have to be a clean attack.

"Fine then I will do it myself"

* * *

Nick held on tightly to Judy, protecting her from the ground they were about to impact. The landing wasn't that bad, Nick simply slid on his back for a few feet before finally stopping. Nick let out a sigh of relief letting go of Judy, they finally get a small break after all that had happened. He looked down at the rabbit and smiled at her,

"You alright?" He asked his rough voice full of care. She up at him her eyes full of thanks and love.

"Yeah, thanks to you" She said back.

It was then that they noticed that they were being watched, by a lot of mammals. They had landed at the edge of the crowd just in front of the refreshment table where both Edward and Amelia were peeking over.

"Hey it's the Phantom Fox and Violet Vigilante" someone called out. The two scrambled to their feet and took in the sight around them, all the students were huddled up in the center being surrounded by soldiers, and there was one standing up by the DJ booth holding a radio. Little did anyone know a plan had been formed already in the students.

"David do it now!" Someone called out, a wolf stood up in the center of the group and held out his paws, instantly all the guns that the soldiers were holding were ripped from their grasp and flung out the now broken window.

The students now had the upper hand over the soldiers, that's all that mattered at that point.

The sound of a door breaking in distracted everyone. At the front of the gym the doors were hanging from their hinges and in walked both Chief Bogo and Jack Savage.

A sound outside the window then turned everyones attention that way, the sound was like a small jet engine taking off.

Magnus flew through the window and looked down on the mammals, quickly finding the two she was looking for as they stood out compared to everyone there.

"You two will pay! Attack!" She shouted as she flew down towards them.

With that one call everyone sprung into action, the soldiers ran in to the mass of students while the students themselves ran and attacked. It was like a great battle, good versus evil, dark versus light.

Nick was so distracted by the action that he didn't notice Magnus until she was right on top of him. She grabbed his throat and flew up into the air, she only had the one good arm so she couldn't hit him but could fly around and throw him into things. She flew through the gym driving him straight into the wall and then up towards the ceiling.

It didn't hurt as much as it should have because Nick braced for it, making the impact less damaging to him. Ever since he got up from the mind attack he had he felt almost invincible, pain was just a nuisance now. He kicked his leg out and straight into Magnus's chest causing her to let go of him, he floated in place while Magnus recovered. Suddenly an arm came around Magnus and threw her to the ground, it was Sylvia, the leopard apparently had the power to fly as well as she floated next to him.

"Are you alright Mr. Fox?" She asked concerned. It was strange he had never interacted with anyone close to him that didn't know his true identity, he had a character to play that he didn't even know who it was.

"Yeah I'm good, but don't call me Mr. Fox, that's what they call my dad. Either Phantom Fox or just Fox is fine. And thanks for the help" He said letting out a chuckle. Sylvia seemed surprised, she was expecting the fox to be serious and strict but he seemed to be very relaxed, almost like he was a teenager himself.

"Let's go help the others" he said as he flew towards the ground and into the battle.

The hero's had the upper hand over the soldiers, mammals of all sizes were using their powers to help others and take down the threat. It was a beautiful sight for Edward and Amelia who had joined the fray themselves, (they may not have powers but they knew how to fight). It was something they had often dreamed of, hero's joining together to fight for good. But it was the fox and bunny that stopped the show for them, they were fighting in tandem as if they were the same mammal fighting. Their movements were in sync as they took out the mammals in front of them, and even taking out the attackers who were behind the others back, it was strange. It reminded Edward of the teamwork between him and Amelia, maybe even better than them as they saw what couldn't be seen.

"They really are going to take care of the city" Amelia said putting a paw on Edwards shoulder as the battle died down. Edward looked over and smiled at her putting his paw on hers,

"Yeah they are" he said turning back to the two. Something caught his eye behind the two.

At the far side of the gym Magnus was standing back up, swaying as she did and clearly in pain. There was something broken on her suit and sparked out like it had short circuited. Once again her anger grew as well as her power.

"ENOUGH!" She yelled out, her voice echoed over the entire gym causing a holt in the fight as all heads turned toward her. Suddenly a force came over all mammals in the room except the two, and they were forced to the side and into the walls. It was like they were stuck in solid cement, all mammals were stuck both the soldiers and students as well as Edward and Amelia, leaving only Nick and Judy in the middle.

She reached out her hand and used her powers on the rabbit causing her to fly in her direction. The rabbit froze directly next to the tall masked figure, Judy was forced to her knee's and her head down.

"You all want to know what species these two are don't you?" Magnus called out although her voice changer was gone so it sounded just like Dawn, much to everyones surprise. Everyone knew the sound of their class president after all.

"Magnus don't" Nick called out, taking a step towards the two.

"Move any closer fox and I will kill her" She said pointing to Nick. He didn't want to test her and risk Judy's life so he stayed where he was.

"We all already know that the Phantom Fox is just that, a no good fox. But the big question on everybody's mind is what is the Violet Vigilante? Surely a predator or something like that, how else could they work so well together? Well here is the surprise" she then ripped Judy's hood off revealing the her ears and easily giving away her species. "She is a RABBIT!"

Gasps of shock rose up through the trapped students against the wall. Many of them didn't understand how a predator and a prey could work together let alone a pair of natural enemies.

"But that won't matter because soon she won't have any powers at all" Magnus said pulling out a container of purple liquid. Everyone was confused by it except Nick, he knew exactly what he was looking at. She was going to take her powers away, the power inside of him spiked as he watched the cap come off the container.

Everyone in the room could feel the tension rise, like a bomb was about to go off. It was a familiar feeling, something they had felt before. And it was coming from the fox.

Time slowed down, Magnus raised the flask over Judy, who's eyes were full of fear at her impending doom. She loved having her powers, it was her dream to help others and now it was going to be taken away.

Nicks powers were going on overdrive as it had done before when a loved one was at risk. And it happened like a snap, if anyone was watching the fox they didn't see him move, it was almost like he teleported.

Nick took off running so fast that he didn't seem to move, one moment he was across the gym the next he was right on top of the two. But Magnus knew this was going to happen and stopped him just before he could reach them. Something was different though, she couldn't control him, her powers just slowed his movement but didn't stop it.

'He's too strong' she thought. The feeling of fear washed over her as well as the aura from his powers causing her to lose all control. Nick dove straight into her knocking her to the ground, the impact was enough to make her drop the flask.

With her control being lost Judy could move and did so quickly out of the way of the container as it plummeted to the ground. It didn't break but some of the liquid spilled out onto the gym floor. All the mammals being held to the wall were now released and fell to the ground.

Nick held Magnus to the ground while she attempted to get control back but she was failing, his powers were overpowering her ability to take control of anything. She looked up at the fox holding her down and her breath caught in her throat, his eyes were slits and his teeth were bared back. Her fear was not one of how vulnerable she was, her fear was in the depths of her mind, of prey fearing predator.

"Fox!" Judy called to him distracting him from the ewe who he was about to rip apart. He looked over to see her holding the flask of liquid. Nick pulled Magnus so that she was standing in front of him with her back facing while he held her arms behind her back.

"Do it!" He yelled.

"Bu-"

"JUST DO IT!" He yelled, she was slowly gaining power back and he wanted it to be over now. Judy dumped the container onto Magnus, making sure to get it through the cracks in her visor. Nick hid behind her hoping that none of it would land on him, but his luck wasn't with him that day as the liquid dripped down the sides of her and onto Nicks head and hands. It wasn't much, about a half cup of the liquid, but he could feel the burn from it almost immediately. He felt like the parts with the liquid on it were on fire which caused him to release Magnus and fall to the ground in pain. Considering how little had gotten on him and it hurt this much he almost felt bad for the ewe who was practically drowning in it inside her suit. Her screams of pain could be heard echoing throughout the gym.

He could feel his powers being drained and his body growing weak from the pain. He stood on his hands and knees growling against the pain, his senses were going haywire as if everything was being short-circuited inside of him.

"Phantom" he could hear Judy call out to him, the sound of her voice spiking his fear. He quickly slid away from her opening his eyes to see her looking at him with fear in her eyes.

"Stay away from me" He snarled out unintentionally, he couldn't control the sounds he was making as the burning was simply too much for him.

Judy couldn't just stand there and do nothing, "can someone get me water right now!" She called out to the mammals around her. The sound of footsteps scrambling around him as mammals burst into motion.

"Here" it was his dad with his mom right by his side.

"Fox we are going to wash it off of you alright?" Amelia said. Nick nodded in response,

"Quick" was all he could let out. It was such a small amount but it felt like his skin was melting off his body. The idea was brilliant, they had already lost their powers so they weren't in any risk.

"Alright buddy we gotcha" his dad said soothingly.

The first cup they dumped on him was instant relief, the water was so cold that it soothed the burning sensation by a little, but the effect was easily noticed. He could feel their paws working through his fur while he lay down and let them work. Because they didn't have powers the liquid didn't burn them at all making the clean up easy.

They dumped cup after cup of water using their paws to scrub the purple liquid out of his silver fur until there was nothing left. The pain died away as it was cleaned off until all that was left was a dull pain, his breathing and growling simmered down with it.

"I think I'm okay" he said opening his eyes. The sight he saw startled him a little, he was surrounded on all sides by mammals and they were all looking at him.

"alright back it up, give the fox some space" another familiar voice called. Nick looked up to see Clawhauser step into the middle and start pushing mammals back, the cheetah looked back at Nick and gave him a nod, one that the fox quickly returned.

The mammals slowly backed up while Nick got up on his feet, he looked over at the crumpled form of Magnus who was lying on the ground, clearly unconscious from the pain.

"Don't worry about her Fox, I'll take care of it" came the rumbling voice of Chief Bogo. The Cape buffalo had come through the group as well as Jack, he walked over to the suited ewe and pulled out his handcuffs, quickly locking her paws together and hoisting her over his shoulder. He then walked towards the exit of the gym, the sight of the villain being taken away caused a roar of cheers and applause.

As soon as they were out the door the applause quickly shifted to the fox and rabbit, chants went out for both the Phantom Fox as well as the Violet Vigilante. Edward, Amelia, and Jack all stepped back allowing the pair to take in their applause.

'What do we do now?' Judy thought to Nicks head. The fox grabbed hold of her by the waist and pulled her close.

'We smile and wave' he said raising his hand and giving a wave to the group. Cameras flashed, hands clapped, and names were chanted.

They had won. They had taken down the villain. And they did it together.

* * *

Everything that happened after seemed like a flash to Nick.

Everyone boarded the cargo plane that was parked out front, students and soldiers together, and made it to the ground safely. The busses would be rebuilt and the school would be repaired before they got back from break.

Nick hadn't lost any of his powers, thankfully, because the dose of the liquid was far too small.

By the time they were all out of the plane it was roughly eleven at night. Everyone had had their fill of a night out and dispersed, many of whom wanted their picture with the legendary duo. No one seemed to care that they were different species or pred-prey, all that mattered was that they had saved their lives.

The police got there quickly, taking the soldiers away in busses and vans as well as putting Magnus into a high security truck so that she couldn't escape even if she tried.

They dispersed to their own homes, knowing that tomorrow there would be another press conference because the news would spread quickly about the attack. Sky High's location may have been a secret but the school itself was well known in all of Zootopia, and news that happened there still got out, normal citizens simply considered it a rumor.

But they left either way, the walk wasn't far but Nick and Judy flew back to avoid being seen while Edward and Amelia walked back. The shear amount of exhaustion hit them the moment they stepped through Nicks window, the day had been long and their bodies ached from the fighting as well as the falling.

As soon as they were inside and safe Nick pulled into a hug and squeezed tight.

"We did it" Judy whispered into Nicks chest.

"Yeah I guess we did" he whispered back.

Nick picked her up and brought her to the bed, any and all rules that his parents put in place were forgotten as the two quickly fell asleep in their embrace.

Edward and Amelia peeked in when they got home but didn't say anything, knowing that their day was much longer than theirs.

It was the best night sleep that either had gotten in a week…

* * *

"I'd like to thank you all for coming in for this press briefing on the incident that occurred at Sky High School. For those of you that don't know what it is, it is a high school where mammals of extraordinary ability are trained to become hero's all around the world. It's location is a closely guarded secret, and for good reason as we saw from the attack last night. There is no way for normal citizens to get to this location unless you have special permission such as myself, or if you break in there illegally."

The podium was occupied by Chief Bogo with Nick and Judy standing close by. Out of any press conference he had done, this had the most media mammals there that he had ever seen. And he knew that millions of people around the nation were tuning in as well to get a glimpse of the two hero's.

"I was there as security for the winter dance that the school was holding. I did not know of the chaos that would unfold, nor do I have the knowledge of what truly happened. And that is why I now pass the mic on to Zootopia's newest hero's, Phantom Fox and Violet Vigilante."

Cameras flashed, and chatter commenced as the two mammals stepped up to the podium. A stool was given so that they could stand and be seen over the large podium. Nick tapped the mic making sure that he was close enough to be heard, the sound also brought the chatter down bringing everyones attention up to the front.

"You're going to have to excuse me and my partner here, this is our first press conference and we're a little nervous" Nick said sarcastically, gaining a light chuckle from the audience. And although he seemed calm he actually was very nervous.

"So what happened last night at Sky High was a planned attack by the villain Magnus Mortem, who we now know is young ewe and student of the school Dawn Belleweather who is now in the custody of the ZPD." Nick went on, they had planned what parts of the story to tell in order to get equal time on the mic,

"We have been watching over Magnus for the past few months now and have known about the plan for the attack for a few weeks. But to get a grip on the whole story we must go back to the beginning. Back to August when the first attack happened on the Wilde's house when she tried to kill the family, this attack was only to strike fear in mammals but luckily we stepped in and prevented the family from being killed. The attack on the Houndson's later that night was also her, but we could not step in to that one as it happened well into the morning when we were back into hiding. She then went into hiding for quite sometime to avoid being tracked" Judy added in.

"During this time she was capturing innocent mammals with powers and using them to test different processes of taking their powers away from them" when Nick said this many mammals in the media gasped.

"Yes we know, we were as surprised as you are now. No one has ever been able to take powers away before, but we saw it used and that is where we explain the next part of her plan. It was this recent Monday, the same day that Wild One and Scarlet Fang announced their retirement, that she began her true plan. She captured the two after making a call to them pretending to be a mammal in need and took them to Cliffside, a closed hospital just outside of the main walls of Zootopia. She then held them in containment until we showed up and tried to save them. However, we were not able to save them and they lost their powers" More gasps as well as chatter rose after Nick spoke. "We got them out of there as well as all of the other mammals who had been captured, but sadly Magnus got away as well as some of her soldiers." Nick said.

"Now Wild One and Scarlet Fang were both upset with the outcome but are now enjoying retirement comfortably, knowing that they had left the city in our hands. They still don't want their identity to be known and we hope that they can continue to live their lives happily" Judy said.

"Now going into last night we knew that Magnus was planning something involving Sky High and the school dance, but didn't know exactly what it was. We now know that her goal was to take the powers away from all the students inside using a gas that can take mammals powers away. Luckily we were able to step in and stop that plan from happening, taking Magnus down in the process." Nick said

"And now Magnus or Dawn, as well as all of her soldiers are now in the custody of the ZPD where the justice system will decide her fate" Judy finished.

"Now we will take a few questions" the moment Nick said this all hell broke loose as everyone asked questions all at once. Nick looked over at Judy with a smirk who simply shrugged.

"Yes you up front" Nick pointed at a gopher sitting near the front.

"Was Dawn Belleweather a mammal of power?" He asked.

"Yes, she had the power of Telekinesis which allows her to control any object around her" Nick said, "you the deer" he pointed out another question.

"What powers do you two have?" she asked into her microphone. Judy was about to respond when Nick leaned into the mic.

"That's classified"

'Let's not tell them that just yet' he thought to Judy. The two had started to create links more often to continually have conversations in secret. The deer didn't seem satisfied with that answer but sat down anyways.

"Next question" Nick pointed to a cheetah standing near the middle of the group.

"Unlike hero's of Zootopia in the past you two already have your species out for the public to know. And in all the years that we have had superhero's there has never been a pred-prey duo. Do you think there will be backlash now that we all know that you are a fox, and you are a bunny?" The cheetah asked.

This time Judy spoke up, "of course there will be backlash, stereotypes never die for mammals like us. No matter what happens mammals will still see foxes as sly and mammals will always see me as weak. But we are willing to save any mammal no matter the bias or the stereotypes they may hold against us. As far as us working together, I never see myself working with anyone else for the rest of my life. Our relationship goes beyond the normal relationships of civilians."

"Wait, that brings me to another question. It is known that Wild One and Scarlet Fang are married, are you two in a relationship such as that yourselves?" The cheetah asked. The way she asked that Nick could tell she was trying to get the story rather then the true news, which is why he then stepped in.

"I'm sorry to butt in, but if we are in a relationship would any mammals here have a problem with it?" He asked to all the press, when no one reacted he scoffed in disbelief. "No please be honest, raise your hand if anyone here is discussed by inter species relationships" Slowly hands went up. It was roughly half of the reporters in the room who had their hands raised.

"Good, well here is your answer" Nick said turning to Judy and grabbing a hold of her.

'What are you doing?' She asked hectically.

Nick froze and smirked at her, 'giving them a show'.

He then pulled her in and kissed, ignoring the immense camera flashes and all out yells from the crowd.

'And this is the show stopper'

* * *

 **Thank you. That is what I want to say first and foremost. Thank you thank you thank you. I have truly enjoyed writing this story and I'm glad that you have enjoyed reading. This is the end of the first part, I'm debating whether to stop it here and create a new story or to just continue on in this story. I will solve that problem and you will see the outcome soon enough. Considering the story will pick up right after this I'm most likely going to just continue it here. In this chapter I have introduced the next problem that they will face, and boy is it a doozy. Anyways, I have been writing a lot lately because I have nothing better to do while in quarantine, but I will be taking a short break for now to just let people read the story and get up to this point. I hope you all stick around for the next part I promise that you will enjoy it more than this portion. This chapter is also exceptionally long so I hope you enjoyed that, they won't normally be that long. I really hope you enjoyed this portion of the story as well as this chapter. If you have any questions about the plot or if I left something wide open please let me know, I do work alone and at 3 in the morning so I miss some things.**

 **Thank you once again. Go wash your hands and stay safe.**

 **DAG**


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